Adding Music to the Lyrics of Life
by yellow blaze
Summary: Human AU: Junior year has started up for Arthur, Gilbert, Matthew, Lovino and friends. Arthur's just hoping he can get through the school year without having another fiasco like his sophomore year.
1. New school year

Hello again. So I would like to formally apologize for taking the stories off of the website for a little while. The stories had to be edited to fit the guidelines. But I received a few messages wanting the return of the stories, so I'm going to attempt to rewrite these out so that they can be put back up.

Sidenote: There is a timeskip over their summer vacation.

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Adding Music to Lyrics

Arthur leaned against the outside wall that belonged to the school building. Fortunately he had gotten here early this morning, as it was the first day of their new year (even though it was a little hard to believe that he only had to make it through two more years). He glanced at his watch, and found he still had plenty of time before the bell actually rang. He smiled and looked around the school yard. Standing here he could reflect on what had happened the previous year.

One: Became a member of student council, member #2 of 2. What a pitiful student council. But they got their work done. Two: Ended up on the honor roll (somehow). Three: Somehow found the time inbetween studying and student council to realize he had a crush on Alfred. Okay he could forget that third one.

Arthur sighed and ran a hand through his hair. It was still embarrassing to think about. This year he would do something about it, for certain. He kept losing his nerve towards the end of the year when they were sophomores, but not this year. He was going to tell Alfred for certain.

Four (three and a half?): Took that stupid emotional aptitude test that completely ruined his life (at least he learned to lie on those things if they ever come up again). Five (or maybe it's four and the last one was three?): "committed suicide" in the stupid mission for change. Six (or five. Don't remember anymore): Came back after five days of being in the worst place imaginable.

Arthur shook his head. Forget reflecting. It brought up more unpleasant memories than pleasant! Arthur lifted his head and noticed Matthew coming up the sidewalk. Someone's love life had worked out. He had started going out with Cruz not a week after they had come back. Arthur tilted his head and smiled as Matthew looked in his direction, receiving a small smile in response.

"Juniors already…" Matthew whispered, quietly coming over.

"It is hard to believe." Arthur chuckled, "Though I imagine for you it's a little easier to believe since Cruz's personality keeps changing from year to year."

"Ehhh…if someone had told me in my freshman year that I'd be going out with him by the end of our sophomore year I probably would have just ignored that person and thought they were the craziest person ever." Matthew sighed, "But here I am anyway." He blushed a bit.

Arthur chuckled again, "It didn't take long either."

"No. Much to her dismay." Matthew added.

"Her?" Arthur tilted his head.

"Mm…Cruz's ex…Maria?" Matthew tilted his head, as if he had been trying to remember her name. It seemed that forgetting names was something that happened to him by other people (he kept getting called Alfred for some reason; Arthur personally didn't think they looked anything alike, and Cruz would undoubtedly agree), or when he was thinking of someone he didn't talk to on a regular basis.

Arthur shrugged slightly. He had never spoken to Maria, either. "Well if she had feelings for him then maybe she should have tried harder."

Matthew nodded quietly, "Ehh…Cruz keeps calling her souphead for some reason. I don't really know why. Every time I ask he starts laughing."

"…well if you take a literal meaning it sounds like someone dumped soup on her head." Arthur made a face, "And now that I think about it, Alfred said something about it, too. Or rather that Cruz got into a physical fight with her before we came back last year."

"Eh? Really?" Matthew raised his head a bit, "Maybe they had a fight after all. He said they broke up during the first assembly we had…"

"Ugh. I would personally scratch that from my memory as soon as I am able to." Arthur frowned. The frown vanished when Alfred came through the front gates, "Why didn't you two come together anyway?"

Matthew looked over his shoulder and saw his older twin brother coming, "Oh. He woke up late and insisted on eating more than one serving of breakfast…as usual. I just didn't feel like waiting this morning."

"…" Arthur tilted his head slightly. How Alfred was able to eat so much (and so fast) yet never (at least not that he noticed) gain weight was beyond his comprehension.

"Good morning, Arthur!" Alfred cheered, waving ecstatically.

"Morning." Arthur blinked. And how he was so bloody energetic in the morning was also something he could not understand, "Out of curiosity, can I get a decent amount of sleep each night this year?" He tilted his head, teasing the other for coming over every night before a test.

Alfred pouted, "But you take better notes!"

"Eh. You could start that over this year." Matthew spoke up, smiling, "It is a new year after all, you don't have a broken hand this time." He pointed out, reminding Alfred of when he punched his bedroom wall.

"That wall totally deserved it, and yeah yeah. I'll try harder this year." Alfred waved his hand nonchalantly to both Arthur and Matthew.

Arthur glanced at his watch again, "Then I'm heading inside. The bell will be ringing shortly anyhow." He glanced up, "Strange I haven't seen Roderich yet. I thought he would be here by now."

Alfred looked back at the gate, as did Matthew.

"Dunno. Gilbert's not here yet either is he? Maybe they ran into each other while walking." Alfred laughed, "Can totally see Gilbert doing that on purpose!"

Arthur sighed. As much as Roderich hated to admit it, it was common knowledge that the two liked each other even though they kept arguing (though Gilbert called it playful teasing). How many times had Gilbert skipped into the student council room last year (and that was even just at the end of the year that Arthur had lost count). He shook his head and headed for the front steps, "Well hopefully this year turns out better than the last one did."

"And I believe that was totally on you guys." Alfred snorted, but followed along, with Matthew in tow.

"I never said it wasn't our fault." Arthur's face turned red and he glared at Alfred, "And I am quite satisfied with forgetting that week, thank you!"

"Hahahaha!" Alfred laughed, "What are you guys gonna do if they give us another one of those dumb tests?"

"LIE." Arthur and Matthew both snapped in unison.

"There's still a problem here?" Alfred teased.

Arthur promptly slapped a hand to his forehead, "No. There is no problem whatsoever. Either way, I will be answering the test so I'm not sent back to that place. The food was awful, the teachers didn't know what they were talking about, and the beds left much to be desired."

"Eh. At least you got sleep." Matthew muttered, not making a comment on the test.

If Alfred noticed that Matthew hadn't commented, he didn't show it outwardly. Arthur huffed and went over to his assigned locker (fortunately near the front lobby).

"Ah memories!" Alfred danced through the lobby.

"What memories? It's a lobby." Arthur looked at him confused.

"Totally made this lobby the equivalent of a skating rink." Alfred grinned, "That was hilarious!"

"Oh, was that your prank on the school board? You better watch your school record this year. Otherwise you won't have a senior year to think about." Arthur shrugged and opened his locker. He didn't even know why he bothered, there was nothing to put in or take out. _At least if he doesn't have a senior year, that will save me from having to help him study for any damn test._

Matthew walked by him and tapped a locker door three doors down from Arthur's, "…Well that's nice. At least if I end up in the nurse's office after gym I can just walk out the door no problem."

"No no no no no." Alfred shook his head, "No hurting yourself during gym! Besides, they banned the tackle sports. Chill." He patted Matthew on the shoulder, "Only touch tackle."

"Eh. I'll still wind up getting hurt somehow." Matthew sighed.

"Not if Cruz is in that class. That would be rather amusing." Arthur commented, shutting his locker door again. He was just making sure they had given him the right combination, that was his reason for opening it, he told himself silently.

Matthew stuck his tongue out at Arthur in silent response.

"Yeah, is he even here today?" Alfred looked up and down the hall that was now starting to fill with their chattering classmates.

"Eh. He should be." Matthew tilted his head.

Arthur blinked as a familiar albino walked in through the door with his arm around Roderich, "Oh. There they are. Looks like you were right, Alfred."

"Yes!" Alfred cheered, "I knew it!"

"Morning, awesome people!" Gilbert grinned cheerfully.

"Morning, Gilbert, good morning Roderich." Matthew looked over at the male (who did not look happy at all) that was next to Gilbert.

"It _was."_ Roderich huffed, glaring at the slightly taller male next to him, "I am not an armrest."

"You're a walking hug." Gilbert stuck his tongue out at Roderich, but moved his arm anyway.

Arthur stared at Gilbert in silence. It must be his imagination… Arthur shook his head and smiled, "Good morning to you both."

"Anyone else have first class with me? I got stuck in history first thing." Gilbert took out a folded piece of paper from his pocket.

"Ah, I think I do actually." Arthur took out his own class schedule, "Yes. World History in room 220."

"Sweet!" Gilbert instantly latched onto Arthur, "First class is gonna be awesome!"

"Get off me." Arthur sighed.

"Thank you." Roderich rubbed his shoulder in relief, "I have math for my first class."

"Math." Alfred raised his hand.

"Math." Matthew raised his hand as well.

"Pft. Have fun with that." Gilbert waved a hand dismissively, "You all gotta stay awake. History is bound to be powerpoints and videos."

Arthur made a face, "I plan on taking notes, not sleeping."

"Whatever. What do you have for second class?" Gilbert looked at his schedule again.

"History." Roderich smirked, "No class with you."

"Whatever!" Gilbert pouted, "I got put in Home Education that class."

"Huh? So did I." Arthur blinked. Is that the class where they learn to cook and sew?

"Not fair. I got gym." Alfred sighed.

"…World History." Matthew made a face, "At least it's with someone else…" He sighed in relief.

"Well I can tell me and Arthur are gonna have fun." Gilbert grinned, "Third bell, I got stuck in science."

"Study Hall." Arthur made a face. He preferred saving those for the end of the day so he could get all his homework done and not have to take anything home, but oh well. At least this would come in handy for any last minute studying before a test.

"Study hall…" Alfred perked up, "I got a class with Arthur!"

"That's hardly a class!" Arthur snapped, feeling his face redden already. _Damn it!_

"Eh. Science." Matthew tilted his head. One class with Gilbert it seemed.

"Unfortunately gym." Roderich sighed.

"Whoa. Poor Roddy's the only one off by himself!" Gilbert laughed, "There there." He patted Roderich on the shoulder.

"Is that supposed to comfort me?" Roderich glared at him through narrowed eyes.

Gilbert stuck his tongue out at Roderich, "I was trying!"

"Before you two get into a fight in the hall…" Arthur sighed and shook his head, "I'm heading to class before the bell rings."

"Ah, wait for me!" Gilbert hurried after him.

Roderich shook his head, "Honestly. Should we walk together then?" He looked over at Alfred and Matthew.

Matthew nodded in silence, while Alfred grinned, "Heck yeah! Maybe we can all sit together!"

Roderich smiled slightly, "That would make class a little more tolerable. Hopefully the teachers learned a lesson from last year." He headed off towards the stairwell, as their math class was up on the second level.

"Ahahahaha, they better have! We can teach them another lesson this year!" Alfred skipped after Roderich, looping his arm around Matthew's shoulders and pulling him along.

"Eh…have some respect for your school record please…" Matthew whispered, but kept up with the strides of his taller brother.

"Ahahahahaha, oh sure." Alfred waved his hand dismissively, "Respect for the school record, the year just started, no worries!"

"You're aware marks carry on to the next year?" Roderich looked back at Alfred with a raised eyebrow.

"Huh? Do they really?" Alfred tilted his head, "So that means I got two ear-blistering lectures on my record!" He laughed, obviously not caring at all.

Matthew shook his head quietly. He raised his head again and saw Cruz coming up the hallway, "Eh. Good morning."

"Morning." Cruz suppressed a yawn and ruffled Matthew's hair, "Where you off to?"

"Math with Alfred and Roderich." Matthew smiled cheerfully up at Cruz.

"What do you have first?" Alfred glanced over at him, not caring much for the public display of affection (as he still didn't get along with Cruz).

"Gym." Cruz sighed, "Of course I would have that stupid class first…"

"At least you'll wake up first thing." Roderich pointed out, huffing slightly.

"Yeah, and be worn out the rest of the day." Cruz grumbled, "Just peachy." He walked with them to the stairwell before heading off down the hall while they went up the steps, "Hopefully see you later."

Matthew smiled and waved at him before hurrying up the steps after Alfred and Roderich. He had begun wondering if Cruz had a study hall the first class (that would mean he didn't have to show up until the second bell), but it turns out he had just overslept. Matthew smiled to himself and caught up to his brother, "I wonder if they'll have a test first thing…"

Alfred winced, "I hope not. It's way too early in the morning for that!"

"Well…it's possible." Roderich made a face, "Just to see how much we know."

"Crap. I'm doomed." Alfred's shoulders slumped, "Math tests are hard as it is. Forget about one right after summer vaction!"

"Yeah but this one shouldn't count towards our grade at least." Matthew smiled.

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Arthur walked up the ramp, with Gilbert following right behind him.

"This stupid history class better not be boring." Gilbert grumbled, keeping up with Arthur despite the fast pace he was going at.

"Well don't hold your breath on that one. You said yourself that it's going to be powerpoints…by the way…" Arthur stopped at the top of the ramp and looked at Gilbert, frowning.

Gilbert stopped, just short of running into him, "What?" He raised an eyebrow, "That's one heck of a spot to stop, just saying."

Arthur stared at Gilbert for a while, "…no. Never mind." He turned on his heel and continued walking, "It's probably just my imagination and not seeing you for a while."

"What? Do I look like crap or something?" Gilbert laughed and followed along behind him, "Because I totally blame that on my stupid older brother."

"I thought Ludwig was younger?" Arthur glanced over his shoulder in confusion.

"Ach, no. Not Ludwig. Stupid older brother, Ardrich." Gilbert rolled his eyes, "He's shorter than me for crying out loud, how he's older I have no clue."

"Well height doesn't always attribute to age." Arthur smiled slightly.

"Pft. Obviously maturity doesn't either." Gilbert scoffed, "He better not be in any of my classes, just saying that now."

"What are you going to do if he is?"Arthur looked at him, eyebrows raised, as they reached the door to their classroom.

"Demand a schedule change." Gilbert made a face, "I cannot stand sitting in the same room with him."

Arthur laughed and walked into the classroom.

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Well thankfully that didn't require much editing. It was just a few grammar changes here and there.


	2. First bell

Not sure how many readers are going to end up re-reading all of this, but I'll try to remember to add a note at the beginning if I make a major change somewhere.

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Arthur glanced at the rows of empty desks, after seeing that instructions had been written on the blackboard to sit wherever they wanted to.

"In the back?" Gilbert looked at Arthur hopefully. As far away from the (more than likely) most unawesome teacher ever.

"Sure." Arthur shrugged and headed for the back of the room. At least back here it would be less likely that he would get any distractions from taking notes, excluding Gilbert of course. He really was hoping that Gilbert would actually attempt to take notes, but he wasn't holding his breath either.

"Sweet~" Gilbert plopped down in the seat next to the one Arthur had chosen (which was in the back corner of the room). Clearly the guy was antisocial. Or just wanted as few as distractions as humanly possible. Gilbert smirked, more than likely the second one (though the first was rather likely as well).

Arthur sat in his seat and glanced around the room as their classmates began mingling in slowly. Some of them looked like they hadn't gotten near enough sleep the night before (probably spending their last day of vacation doing as many fun activities as they could pack into a day) and others were happily chatting with friends they had discovered had the same class. Arthur glanced over at Gilbert, "I wonder what the teacher is going to have us do? History classes don't normally have a test to see how much we know…"

"Whatever it is. I hope it's fun and not insanely boring." Gilbert waved his hand around, "Had plenty of that last year."

"Don't hold your breath." Arthur chuckled and faced the front of the room as the teacher came in. According to the schedule their teacher's name was Mr. Specks. He raised an eyebrow at the (either middle-aged or not aging gracefully at all) male teacher. The name suited him. He was wearing spectacles. Or maybe that's why he was wearing those. Arthur glanced to his right and saw Gilbert was making a face that could easily be interpreted as "are-you-kidding-me?".

"Good morning, class. My name is Mr. Specks, yes that is my real name, if I hear one comment or joke about it, the person responsible will be out in the hallway. Understood?"

"Oh gott." Gilbert moaned and sank in his seat, "Off to an unawesome start already."

"Clearly not a joking type of person…" Arthur whispered, in full agreement with Gilbert.

"Now, I understand that many of you will be wondering what we are going to be doing in this class. I assure you, I have a full syllabus written out." Mr. Specks held up a paper with (a LOT) of writing on it.

"Snooze-ville." Gilbert whispered to Arthur, who nodded his head quietly in agreement.

"However. Today, none of this will be covered." Mr. Specks placed the paper down on his desk, "Instead. I have a test I need all of you to take. Answer these questions honestly, and there will be no problems."

 _'How is he going to know if we don't answer it honestly?'_ Arthur raised an eyebrow but decided not to question it out loud. He took the paper that was handed back to him from the person sitting in the desk in front of him.

"Oh mein gott. This thing again." Gilbert glared at the paper he had been handed.

"…" Arthur made a face. Honestly or not, he was answering however he could to insure he would _not_ be out of class again this year. He glanced at the first question, and discovered it had changed from the year before.

 **1.** **How would you describe your family life?**

Arthur raised an eyebrow. Well then. He glanced down at the multiple choice answers, noticing that the expression on Gilbert's face clearly showed that he did _not_ want to take this test at all.

Gilbert grumbled under his breath and read over the options they had a choice of in answering. _A. I have no problems with my family. B. There are some times when I don't get along with my family. C. I don't get along with my family._ …What the heck is this. Gilbert scowled but ended up circling B. When in doubt, go for the middle choice.

 **2.** **Are there times when you feel alone despite having friends near you? (yes/no)**

Arthur scowled. Seriously? He rolled his eyes and wrote a large "NO" next to it. Definitely lying on that one, but that's the way it goes. Besides, when your friends are having a conversation about something you know nothing about, of course you're going to feel a little bit left out, right? Right. Arthur nodded and went on to the third question.

Gilbert scoffed and wrote No. Of course he never felt alone. Someone as awesome as himself joined in on any conversation no matter what it was about.

 **3.** **Do you ever feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders?**

What kind of question was that? Gilbert raised an eyebrow before writing No and continuing on with the test.

Arthur rolled his eyes again and wrote NO once more. This really was an absurd test. Who would answer these with a yes?

 **4.** **Are you easily emotional (do you cry for no reason)?**

Arthur looked up at the front of the room and saw Mr. Specks leaning against the blackboard, reading a book that was in his hand. Seriously? He looked back down at the paper. This test is unbelievable. Arthur glanced around the room and saw others looking at it in confusion, while others looked like they were just writing as fast as they could to get it done and over with as soon as possible. Arthur sighed and wrote No for the third time.

Gilbert snickered and wrote No. There is no way I cry without a reason. I don't even cry with a reason. Pft. Gilbert smirked and looked at the next question.

 **5.** **Do you feel as though no one understands how you feel?**

Gilbert blinked and re-read the question over again. What the heck? He looked over at Arthur (who also seemed to be on the same question) who had frozen with his pen hovering over the paper. Gilbert looked back at his own test. Doesn't everyone at some point or another? Gilbert made a face and wrote No before deciding it to be best to forget he ever saw that question and move to the next one.

Arthur tapped his pen on the paper a couple times. Well sure he felt like that, but that was a normal feeling for someone to have, wasn't it? Was it supposed to be like that for all of these? Arthur shrugged and ended up writing "at some times, yes, but that's perfectly normal for someone isn't it?". He scowled and went back over his answers he had already written down. He ended up adding "only when the conversation is something I know nothing about" to the end of question two. Arthur shook his head and went to the sixth question.

 **6.** **Are you able to smile without forcing it?**

Gilbert stared at the question in disbelief. Well obviously he could. He smiled all the time, what kind of stupid question was that? "Ja, of course" ended up being the answer he wrote down. Gilbert sighed heavily. This was NOT how he had wanted to spend his morning.

Arthur made a face and wrote "yes" before the small voice of doubt could get a word in edge-wise. Of course he could smile without forcing it (though it really depended on the situation).

 **7.** **Can you talk to your family members about any problems you have?**

Gilbert could have hit his head on the desk (really hard, too) but decided it would be better not to. "No, it's none of their damn business" ended up being his answer. _'Something tells me I'm going to pay for that one.'_ Gilbert made a face at his answer before shrugging. _'Oh well~!'_

"No. If I have a problem I will work it out myself before even thinking about telling them." Arthur scowled and wrote his answer out on the paper. There was no bloody way he was going to be telling _anyone_ in his family about any type of problem he had. …in the end…that emotional facility really didn't help with the whole at-home family situation, did it? Arthur sighed. Should work on that this year. Right. Things to do this year: 1. Tell Alfred, 2. Work on issues with family members.

 **8.** **Do you have one friend you use as a close confidant?**

Gilbert hesitated. Friend being used as a confidant…uh. He tapped the end of his pen against his chin thoughtfully. There was Roderich of course, but he didn't tell _him_ everything either. Of course he didn't talk to Mr. Stiff (both Big and Little), he talked to mutti more easily than either stiff, but still didn't mention if he had a problem or not. And there was no damn way he was talking to Ardrich about anything. Giant blabber-mouth is what he is. Gilbert scowled. He re-read the question and started tapping the pen on his desk instead. Closest person he had was Roderich. He ended up writing "Yes, about some things, not all" as his answer.

Arthur raised an eyebrow. No was the definite answer here. If he couldn't talk to his parents about it, how was he supposed to talk to a friend about it? "No" it is.

 **9.** **Do you feel more comfortable around friends than you do family?**

"YES" Gilbert wrote the answer out without hesitation at all. How can anyone be comfortable in a house of stiffs (excluding Mutti of course)?

"Yes" Arthur sighed. Should work on that as well.

 **10.** **Do you feel as though there are things you need to work and improve on that were listed in the questions above?**

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…

Gilbert hesitated. Something was telling him he _really_ should be careful about he answered this one.

Well obviously. Arthur wrote "yes" and placed his pen down on the desk. At least there were only ten questions to this one, unlike last year.

Gilbert made a face, "Ja, maybe." That answer was definitely going to get him in trouble. He flipped the paper over so it was blank-side-up and placed his pen down on the desk. Stupid test. He would have rather had a knowledge test.

Arthur flipped his own test over (after seeing Gilbert do the same) and tapped his fingers against the desktop. No talking allowed during a test, even if you're done early. So there they had to sit. And wait.

"You two all done?" Mr. Specks wandered over upon noticing they both had their pens down.

"Ja." Gilbert handed him the paper.

"Yes." Arthur picked up his own paper and handed it to the teacher.

"Thank you." Mr. Specks smiled and headed back up to the front of the room, "These papers will be looked over by a third party, not by me."

"…" Arthur froze. WHAT third party?

"…" Gilbert looked over at Arthur (who seemed to be rather rigid now). _'What third party are they talking about?'_ If he could mentally communicate with Arthur, he would have asked, but unfortunately he could not. Gilbert sighed. Stupid history class.

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Alfred looked around the classroom. Stupid seating assignment had put all three of them at different corners of the room. Matthew ended up being near the door (lucky for him) and Roderich was by the front windows (at least he had something to look at). Not that Alfred was complaining, he had been put in the back of the room. At least he could (maybe) fall asleep without being noticed. Alfred looked at the door as their teacher, Mrs. Rose (someone Alfred had last year for English class), came into the room.

"Good morning everyone! I hope all of you are awake today! I imagine some of you must have been up late last night trying not to waste your last day of vacation~" Mrs. Rose laughed, "But hopefully you can concentrate enough to take a short knowledge test for me."

"…" Alfred sighed heavily. Matthew and Roderich had been right after all. Well here's hoping his brain hadn't forgotten everything over summer break.

Matthew took the papers as they were handed to him and silently handed the stack to the student behind him. He turned back front again and looked over the test while he wrote his name at the top. _'…Did we study any of this last year?'_ Matthew hesitated, looking over the questions. It's a good thing it was multiple choice. He was going to end up guessing through this whole thing.

Roderich passed the papers back to the student behind him. He was sitting in the second seat from the front, all the way to the left of the classroom. He frowned at the test. Fortunately he knew the math rules they followed, but still, he didn't think they had covered any of this in their prior math class from the year before. Oh well.

Alfred looked at the paper, tilting his head in confusion. None of the numbers made any sense at all. Hopefully he could just guess and hope his luck didn't fail him. Alfred glanced over the first one. He could at least rule out the answers that made no sense whatsoever. That gave him a 50-50 shot at this. No problem~

Matthew hesitated. Was it just his imagination, or was the first one a trick question? Matthew tapped his pencil against the desk before leaving it blank and moving to the second one. The answer he had come up with wasn't there in the answer blanks anyway. Second one…eh? Three of the answers don't make any sense at all. Matthew circled the only remaining answer and continued on.

Roderich frowned at the first question. He could have sworn he had used the right rules that applied, but his answer didn't match up at all. Roderich added another letter and wrote the answer he had gotten and circled it before moving on to the second question. Oh this one was easy. If three of the answers didn't work, then obviously it's the only one remaining.

Alfred tapped his pencil against the desk, looking over the numbers for a minute before circling an answer and kept going. There was definitely a pattern here. He could see it. At least with the numbers he was choosing. The 50-50's all narrowed out C and D. So he was just flip-flopping between A and B going the whole way down the paper. This was pathetic. He was going to have devote more time to studying this year, for certain. Maybe since Mattie was in this class, he could help him out with this. Alfred smiled a bit. It'd probably help Arthur out if he didn't keep going over there in the middle of the night (though they ended up doing more arguing than studying anyhow).

Matthew flipped the paper over and glanced at the questions on the back. He was definitely going to have to make sure to take actual notes this year instead of just writing the rules they were being taught and one or two examples, because he was _not_ understanding any of this. Matthew sighed. It's a good thing Alfred relies on Arthur, because he, himself, was not going to be of any help whatsoever. Matthew continued circling what made sense to him and kept going.

Roderich looked between his answer and the question he was on. Another one that wasn't there. Well then. Add it and keep moving. Most students he knew would just choose the answer closest to the one they had gotten, but experience taught him that wasn't always the case. Best to just show the work and hope the teacher corrects it to show where he went wrong. Roderich flipped the paper over and looked at the questions on the back. More tedious equations.

Alfred sighed in relief as he got to the bottom of the back of the test. All done~! Hopefully this wouldn't count towards his grade, otherwise he was failing for sure. Alfred laid his pencil down and glanced around the room while waiting for everyone else to be done. He was used to being one of the first ones done, either he knew the test inside-and-out or he didn't know it at all. There was no middle ground whatsoever. Alfred grinned slightly and spun his pencil around the desk.

Matthew sighed quietly once he had finished. This better not count towards the grade, otherwise he was failing and the year had only just begun. Well. It could only get better from here. Hopefully. Matthew brushed the hair out of his eyes and kept his eyes on the blackboard in front of him. This year was going to be different from last year. There was no way he was going to allow himself to fall into the same slump he had before. He had more friends this year at least…and a boyfriend. Matthew blushed and averted his eyes out the door.

Roderich flipped the test back over once he had finished and laid his pencil down on the desk. On some questions, he had been satisfied with his answers, while others he couldn't quite remember how the rule was supposed to go, and ended up probably getting it wrong after all. Well at least he had remembered a good portion of it. If he didn't forget everything over summer vacation, then it was a plus. Roderich nodded to himself and stared out the window. At least he had a view.

"If you're done, please raise your hand so I can come around." Mrs. Rose called, cheerfully.

Roderich raised his hand, and glanced over at her as she came in his direction to pick it up. There weren't that many people done yet. More time to decide what to do this year. Roderich looked out the window again as she picked up the paper and went to move on to the back of the room. This year was going to be one of seriousness. None of that crap he pulled near the end of last year. That was going to be permanently on his school record. Roderich sighed. It seemed as soon as Arthur, Matthew, Lovino and Gilbert had come back, he had gone instantly back to his old routine, something Gilbert teased him for constantly.

Alfred raised his hand, smiling at Mrs. Rose when she picked up his paper, but he didn't say anything out loud. Though he was rather tempted to ask if it would count towards their grades, but she would more than likely ask if he wanted to look over it one more time, and it made his head hurt looking at all the equations. Alfred cupped his chin in his hands, propping his elbows on his desk. Roderich was apparently done, as he was now staring out the window. Mrs. Rose just picked up Matthew's paper so he was done…and staring out the door.

Matthew had half-raised his hand, but never moved his gaze from the door, even as the teacher came back to pick his test up. This year would be different. He was going to talk more. Not end up in that depressed state again. Cruz would definitely hurt him if Matthew ended up the exact same way. He sighed heavily and placed his head down on his desk. The thoughts of self-doubt are starting already. Maybe if he brought a book along to class he could concentrate on that instead of those annoying thoughts in his head.

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Cruz scowled. This was the most pointless gym class ever. They were just sitting in the gymnasium waiting for the bell to ring that would signal the end of class. Well no one had brought in their gym attire, so there really wasn't much else to do beyond getting their lockers of course. And Cruz had already gotten his locker, found the combination worked and shut it again. So now he was stuck sitting here. He glanced over and saw Ludwig coming into the gym. They had talked a couple times towards the end of last year (if only because Matthew and Gilbert sat at the same table). At least there's one person he knows in this class. No clue who the blonde is next to him though. Looks like a miniature Ludwig. Cruz raised an eyebrow as they both came over.

"Morning." Ludwig sat next to him on the floor, leaning up against the matted walls.

"Morning. Who's this?" Cruz looked up at the shorter blonde, who hadn't sat down.

"Older brother, Ardrich." Ludwig sighed.

"…" Cruz raised an eyebrow again, "You weren't here last year were you?"

"No I was not." Ardrich snapped, "Brilliant observation."

"Planning on getting yourself knocked out on the first day?" Cruz asked, quite calmly, in response to the other's sarcasm.

"Ach…" Ludwig winced, "Please don't. He's just…that's just the way he is. He was living with our grandfather last year."

Cruz looked at Ludwig in confusion while Ardrich glared around the gym, "Why somewhere else?"

"Because he didn't care to meet mutti or Gilbert." Ludwig rolled his eyes slightly, "But vati forced him to move here over the summer."

"…You didn't want to meet your own mother? How polite." Cruz snorted, but really didn't have any room to talk about being polite, and knew it quite well.

"I was perfectly fine only having Vati." Ardrich huffed.

Ludwig scowled at Ardrich, "Und obviously you don't get along with either mutti or Gilbert."

"I didn't want to live with them." Ardrich sat down next to Ludwig, and definitely was not invited to do so as Ludwig was now giving him a scathing glare (that or it was in response to the comment he made; Cruz couldn't tell).

"Yeah well maybe something will happen that will change your mind." Cruz decided it to be best to attempt to ignore the two sitting to his right as much as possible (or at least the Mini-Ludwig sitting to the far right; he was definitely not good for Cruz's temper).

"Not likely." Ardrich snapped.

"Ja. He's so set in his ways they're carved in rock." Ludwig grumbled, "Not even Vati can budge him on them."

"Maybe he'll mature as he gets older." Cruz smirked a bit, keeping his face turned away so they couldn't see he was holding back laughter.

"Hey, I'm the oldest! Of course I'm the most mature!" Ardrich complained.

"Not even close." Cruz waved his hand dismissively, "Oldest does not always mean most mature." Hell, just look at Alfred and Matthew. Or Gilbert and Ludwig.

"Ja, I'm the youngest and Gilbert says I'm mature…" Ludwig sighed, "As well as stiff und boring."

"That sounded more like him. I was wondering after you said the first half of that." Cruz laughed, "Thought maybe he hit his head over summer break or something."

"Nein. Gilbert hasn't changed a bit. Still calls Vati "big stiff" und me "little stiff". Und he calls Ardrich "mini-stiff"." Ludwig smirked a bit, clearly enjoying the height difference.

"How did the youngest end up the tallest anyway?" Cruz blinked, "That's odd."

"I'm going to get a growth spurt and be as tall as Vati." Ardrich protested.

"Ja, ja. Whatever." Ludwig shook his head and glanced back at Cruz, "No idea. But I don't mind being taller, at least then I can use my height to help around the house. Unlike someone else who would use it to make fun of shorter people."

… Somehow Cruz was getting the impression the last part of that was a jab at Ardrich, "Does…he get along with _anyone_ in your house?"

Ludwig looked thoughtful for a moment, "…no."

"Didn't think so." Cruz shook his head and looked at the wall that was on the other side of the gym.

"I get along with Vati, Ludwig. Geez." Ardrich rolled his eyes in response.

"…You call constant fighting and getting grounded getting along?" Ludwig asked, a hint of amusement in his voice at the subject they were on.

"Gilbert started that." Ardrich huffed.

"…Gilbert wasn't even home." Ludwig stared at Ardrich in disbelief.

 _'Clearly this guy is someone to avoid at any and all costs.'_ Cruz suppressed a yawn and shifted his gaze to look around the gym. At least Soup-head wasn't in this class. Hopefully she wasn't in _any_ of his classes. He glanced down at his watch only to find they still had almost a half hour to sit on the floor or mingle around the gymnasium. Maybe he could lie and say he didn't know where his next class was. But the teacher would probably only let him go an extra ten minutes. Damn it. Cruz sighed and hit his head against the wall. Wouldn't do any good to text Matthew either, he was in class and couldn't answer the phone right now. …Actually the blonde probably would anyway, but still, shouldn't distract him. Beside him, Ludwig and Ardrich continued arguing, though Cruz had stopped listening by now. There was absolutely no point in getting caught up in family matters that were best dealt with by somebody else. Specifically, the person in the house who had the reigns on this sort of thing. Though by the sounds of it, that was no one.

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So Ardrich's behavior could probably use some explaining, I'll probably add that in a later chapter.


	3. Crowded halls

Narrative note: The time is now 8:00, first class is over and the bell has rung, dismissing students from their first class so they can begin wandering to their second class (starts in fifteen minutes).

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Arthur wandered from the world history classroom, rubbing the back of his head in uncertainty, "D-did you get a bad feeling when he mentioned a third party viewing that?"

"If you describe your bad feeling as a strong desire to be sick and punch the guy, then ja." Gilbert smirked, "Fortunately I am attempting to exercise self-restraint lately."

"How noble of you." Arthur scoffed, "See how far punching a teacher would get you, I dare you."

"Nah. Not worth it." Gilbert laughed, "And besides, I'm sure our wonderful principal would rather not have me down there on the first day already!"

"This is true." Arthur nodded in silent agreement, "So…Home Education is next?" He looked at his schedule paper.

"Ja. I wonder if we learn to cook in that class? That'd be fun~" Gilbert grinned and skipped along the hallway, bouncing with each step.

"It would…and right in between breakfast and lunch…" Arthur put the paper back in his pocket, "That would be nice."

"Ja. That way we're not starving by the time lunch comes around." Gilbert grinned at his friend, "This is gonna be an awesome year, I can tell already! Oh while we're walking, what do you have fourth?" Gilbert took out his schedule. Might as well compare, right?

Arthur took out the piece of paper again, "Fourth bell…I have lunch."

"Awesome~ So do I!" Gilbert instantly put an arm around Arthur's shoulders, "Buddy system!"

"At least until third bell. I have study hall, remember?" Arthur made a face at being used for an armrest, but didn't move to push him off.

"Ja, ja. And I get stuck in science, but at least it's with Matthew, so no complaints here." Gilbert grinned.

"Mm…science class after our cooking class and right before lunch…are you sure you'll be hungry?" Arthur smiled cheerfully at Gilbert, who winced in response.

"Ach, well hopefully we're not doing anything unawesome the same day as cooking. As for lunch, completely unavoidable, and hopefully they're not serving anything good in the cafeteria those days." Gilbert shuddered, "I don't even want to think about it anymore. What do you have fifth?"

"Nice change of subject." Arthur teased, "Gym class…oh. Right after lunch…that's going to be bloody awful."

"…I'm in gym after lunch. What the hell? Do we have almost every class together or something?" Gilbert blinked and leaned over Arthur's shoulder to look at his schedule.

"I'm in science after that." Arthur blinked at Gilbert, "Well at least we'll have someone to sit with if there's no seating chart, as well as someone to complain to about whatever the teacher said during class."

"Ja, totally true. I'm in math after gym. Well that sucks. Eat lunch, run about a dozen laps, and once I'm physically fried, then I gotta fry my brain. Perfect." Gilbert grumbled, the sarcasm more than evident in his voice.

Arthur chuckled, "I have math right after you, maybe we'll pass each other in the hallway."

"I got study hall…sweet! Study hall the last class of the day, this I can live with!" Gilbert grinned and put the paper back in his pocket, "I can do all my homework and go home worry-free! …sort of."

"Still not getting along with your dad, I take it?" Arthur raised an eyebrow, putting his schedule in his pocket once more.

"Not a bit." Gilbert removed his arm from Arthur's shoulders and waved his hand around around carelessly, "Big stiff only got stiffer."

"…" Arthur walked in silence for a couple minutes. How was he supposed to respond to that? "Stiffer how?" He looked at Gilbert in curiosity.

"Let's just say having fun is not on his list of things to do during the days of the week." Gilbert made a face, "Seriously. He could lighten up a little. How he and mutti get along is beyond my way of thinking."

Arthur shook his head, "Yes well, I'm sure people think that about their parents on a regular basis."

Gilbert made a quiet scoffing sound and continued down the hallway, "It's a bunch of crap is what it is. I don't get along with Big Stiff, Little Stiff, or Mini-Stiff. Just mutti."

"…Big stiff…little stiff…and mini-stiff?" Arthur raised an eyebrow at the last one.

"Ja. Older brother. He looks like a Mini-Ludwig." Gilbert laughed, "Und of course Ludwig looks like Vati, so mini-stiff it is."

"…How polite of you." Arthur sighed in exasperation.

"What? Mutti thinks it's funny." Gilbert smiled cheerfully.

"I'm sure she does." Arthur stopped in front of their classroom door, "Here we are…oh. It's the same number as my study hall room as well."

"Lucky…you don't have to go anywhere after class." Gilbert made a face and followed him into the room.

"No, I just have to make conversation with the teacher for ten minutes or so." Arthur made a face over his shoulder at Gilbert and glanced around the room. No notice or anything that said there was a seating chart.

"Sit wherever~!" Miss Summers peered over the top of the desk. Apparently she was kneeling down to get something, "No class seating assignments from me."

"Yay!" Gilbert skipped over to an empty table and plopped down on the stool.

"For sitting here for an hour, these things don't have very good back support." Arthur sighed and sat down next to Gilbert.

"You sound like an old man." Gilbert teased, a smirk on his face.

"Well excuse me." Arthur glared at Gilbert in response, "Would you like me to move somewhere else?"

"Nein~ if we sit at the same table maybe we can work on cooking in teams or something." Gilbert looked rather hopeful at the idea and started glancing around the room.

"…" Arthur didn't respond. _'…I don't think he wants to cook with me. My cooking usually makes people sick…'_ That was something else to work on then. That's three things he needed to improve now this year. Maybe he was setting his goals too high. Not like he could really change it at all. If he didn't say anything to Alfred he was going to end up in the same position he was last year. So that was needing something done about it…he had been trying to get a better relationship established with his family over the summer, but his idiot younger brother had to keep pestering the hell out of him. Arthur sighed. So now he still had progress to go with that…and now cooking. Well he could practice cooking at home, but who would eat the end results…?

Gilbert tilted his head, inspecting a poster that was hanging up on the wall. Cooking sounded like fun, even though Gilbert really had only done simple things (like dumping something out of a can or a tv dinner). Making actual meals would be fun…not so sure about baking desserts and crap like that, not a big fan of sweets here, but maybe he could give them to someone else (like Roddy~). Does Roderich like sweets? Gilbert drummed his fingers on the table-top. Roderich didn't mind those tiny little cakes that are served with tea, Gilbert knew that much from wandering over to his house over summer break (uninvited but that's besides the point). Maybe he just enjoyed sweet things in moderation? _'…I get easily distracted from one thing to another…I just now realized this.'_ Gilbert made a face.

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Alfred skipped out of the math classroom as soon as the bell rang, "Freedom~ that test sucked." He caught up to Matthew and Roderich, who must have been walking slow on purpose so he could catch up easier.

"Eh. It was…interesting." Matthew sighed, "I didn't remember half of the things covered on it."

"We didn't cover most of it last year." Roderich sighed and continued walking, "I had to logically guess at a couple myself."

"I guessed at all of 'em." Alfred grinned, "Cross out the two that don't make sense and I'm left with 50-50. Hopefully my luck holds out."

"If you pass that test and get into a more difficult math class because of it, I'm laughing." Matthew looked back at his brother.

"No~ I'll refuse!" Alfred pouted. Oh. The gym was to the right up here.

"World history straight ahead…" Roderich sighed. He glanced to the right and saw Cruz coming down the hall.

"See you two later~" Alfred waved enthusiastically and skipped past Cruz, Ludwig, and Ardrich to head towards the gym locker rooms.

Matthew peered around Roderich and smiled when he saw Cruz was headed towards them, "Hello again."

"Hello. By the way." Cruz waited until Ludwig and Ardrich had headed away from them, "If I EVER have to sit near that idiot again, I am going to strangle him."

"Eh?" Matthew blinked, startled.

"Which one?" Roderich looked over his shoulder at the retreating blondes. He seriously doubted Cruz was speaking about Ludwig, but you never know.

"The shorter one." Cruz grumbled, "He's the most annoying person I have ever met. Even beat Alfred."

"Ehh…Alfred's not annoying." Matthew made a face but let the comment drop, "Does he know Ludwig? They looked really similar now that I think about it."

"Yeah they're brothers." Cruz shrugged offhandedly.

"Oh that's right. Gilbert did mention an older brother now that I think about it." Roderich joined in on the conversation, "He said something about the older brother moving here this summer?"

"Yeah." Cruz nodded, "And a real winner of a brother right there. Couldn't care less about finding his biological mother and…I guess they're triplets?" Cruz blinked, suddenly distracted by the thought in his head, "Pity the mother who went through that."

Matthew laughed in response, "She must have had a hard time for certain. Especially since none of them get along it seems."

Roderich sighed, "No 'it seems' about it. They definitely do not get along." Certainly not with all the complaints he heard over the summer about the "stiffs of the house". How Gilbert came up with half the names he called his brothers and father were beyond Roderich's imagination (that wasn't saying much, but still).

"What class do you two have now anyway?" Cruz glanced at the two walking to his left.

"Eh, world history." Matthew smiled cheerfully. History was usually one of his better subjects, fortunately.

"World history." Roderich responded. And likely the only class he had with Matthew for the entirety of the day.

"Huh. So do I." Cruz looked at the schedule he had been holding (crumpled up) in his hand.

"We have a class together?" Matthew perked up, "They really seemed to shuffle us around this year."

"They probably learned their lesson from last year to keep us separated." Roderich huffed.

Cruz smirked, "That would imply them having enough intelligence to recognize that a lesson was needing to be learned there."

Matthew smiled but made no comment out loud and instead stopped by the door to their classroom. He pulled on the handle and shuffled inside, holding the door open for Roderich as he walked in.

"Well here's hoping this class isn't as mindless and boring as last year." Roderich commented, holding the door for Cruz as he walked inside as well.

"Don't hold your breath." Cruz grumbled, following Roderich into the classroom. He was not holding out much hope at all for these teachers.

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Lovino sighed and made his way through the (stupidly) crowded hallways. Why was it always so loud and packed in the hall right after the bell rang? Can't they just move to their classrooms and stop taking up space? He had ended up not coming to school until the first class had ended since (luckily) he had a study hall first thing (two years in a row now). Feliciano apparently had one as well, because he was still at home when Lovino was heading out the door. Well hopefully Feliciano hurries it up, otherwise he isn't going to make it on time. And no way Lovino was going to be late waiting for that guy.

"Ugh. I promised myself I'd be more patient and I don't think my patience has ever been shorter." Lovino rubbed the back of his head in frustration, "Damn it. Oh well…which class…" He glanced at his schedule, "…Math. Oh great." He rolled his eyes and stuffed the paper into his pocket. Lovino stalked down the hallway, pushing through the crowd without bothering to apologize to anyone. They weren't apologizing for standing in his way, so he wasn't apologizing to them for making them get out of his way. Patience was definitely shorter this year.

Lovino stalked up the steps, and almost ran into Ludwig who had been coming down the hall, once he reached the top.

"Oh, sorry." Ludwig apologized quickly and kept walking.

"Whatever." Lovino stalked after him, finding his class was in the same direction. They weren't going to be in the same class now, were they? Ugh. Feliciano would pitch a fit at that. _Please don't let Feliciano be in this class. I hate math as it is, no way could I stand sitting in this classroom with him._

Lovino noticed Ludwig going into an open classroom door and glanced at the number. Same one. They were in the same math class. Terrific. Lovino rolled his eyes again and went into the room. And there was a seating chart, even better. Maybe he would be far away from the German bastard. Lovino looked at the chart, trying to find his name, and found it. Right behind Ludwig. Of course it was. At least it was in the back of the room.

Lovino stalked towards the back and sat behind Ludwig, not bothering to say anything to the classmate he had almost run into. Well it was a good morning. He had gotten to sleep in an extra hour or so. Now he just had to endure a class of annoying numbers with someone he didn't really talk to at all sitting in front of him (who also happened to be the object of his brother's affections as well). _'I wonder what class Antonio's in…'_ Lovino laid his head down on the desk and let out a heavy sigh.

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Antonio hurried through the halls, quickly giving out apologies for having to push some people out of the way, but didn't bother to look over his shoulder. Definitely running late this morning! "Oh please don't let me be late to my first class~"

Study hall or not, he was definitely coming to school first thing in the morning instead of sleeping late like he did today. That extra hour just made him more tired and less willing to get out of bed. Antonio hurried up the steps, barely avoiding a crash collision with a small blonde at the top and darted to the left after making a hasty apology.

"This is not my morning!" Antonio darted by several classroom doors and found the one he was supposed to be in at the end of the hall. Definitely needed to actually attend the study hall tomorrow morning. So he didn't have to rush like this. He ducked into the open door and glanced at the board. No seating chart. Yay~ Antonio made his way to the back of the room where a couple empty seats remained and plopped in the back row. It wasn't a corner seat (as both of those were taken already) but this one would do fine.

Oh. Antonio glanced around the room but didn't see any of his friends (sadly, no Lovi). _'For a science room I would have expected lab tables or something.'_ Antonio raised his head as the small blonde he had almost knocked over came into the room. Well. That would make things a bit awkward. Hopefully he didn't decide to sit near Antonio now. Antonio watched as he came to the back of the classroom and ended up sitting in the seat to the right of Antonio's desk. Awkward~

Antonio averted his gaze and pretended to find something fascinating with the blank markerboard. He looked a little like Ludwig now that he thought about it. Antonio glanced at the blonde from the corner of his eye and nodded to himself. Those two could easily be related to one another. Oh. Maybe they were. He'd have to ask Ludwig or Gilbert later on.

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Just grammar updates again.


	4. Second Bell

This chapter had some updates in the first section with reactions to the aptitude test.

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Roderich looked at the test they were supposed to be taking. He would much rather it be a knowledge test…but it wasn't. It was one of those annoying emotional aptitude tests that they had taken last year. Fortunately the questions varied from the previous year (probably so students wouldn't be able to lie so easily), but what was with the one multiple choice answer and the rest all "write a yes/no" answers? Seriously. He glanced to his right (he had chosen to sit in the back so he would get less distractions for when he was taking notes) and saw Matthew making a face at the paper. Cruz on the other hand, was looking at Matthew. Well then. For obvious reasons, Roderich was sure about that. He shook his head slightly and went back to looking over the test in front of him (well what else would you call it?).

 **How would you describe your family life?**

Roderich sighed heavily and looked over the multiple choice answers. _A. I have no problems with my family. B. There are some times when I don't get along with my family. C. I don't get along with my family._ Well of course he didn't have problems with his family (he only lived with his mother) so A was the answer here.

Matthew hesitated at the first question. Eh. Everyone has times when they don't get along with their family right? Even so…it's not A (unfortunately) and it's not C…so it has to be B here. Matthew sighed and circled the letter.

Cruz raised an eyebrow and circled A. He had no problems with his parents whatsoever. _Probably would have more of a problem if they were at home._ Fortunately work kept taking them away from the house, and he was quite all right with that.

 **Are there times when you feel alone despite having friends near you? (yes/no)**

Roderich huffed and wrote No. Normally if he was with friends, Gilbert was included in that group and usually made it a point of dragging Roderich into the conversation whether he wanted to be or not. Or started teasing Roderich for one thing or another when neither of them were involved in the conversation being had. Either way, Gilbert kept him from ever feeling alone (sometimes that was a bad thing. There are just some times when Roderich would rather be alone. Like when he's annoyed at something, or someone).

Matthew felt his cheeks grow hot slightly. Well yes would have to be the _honest_ answer here. To be honest or not to be honest…Matthew tilted his head slightly. He usually didn't join in on conversations when they were standing in a group, just because he felt like the odd one out for doing so. Especially if he had no clue what they were talking about. Matthew sighed heavily and wrote Yes. Might as well be honest. It might pay off more than lying.

Cruz scoffed and wrote No. Of course he never felt lonely. Not having his parents around all the time, he was used to being alone. Can get along just fine without human interaction here (except for Matthew).

 **Do you ever feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders?**

"No". Roderich wrote it out without hesitating. Of course he didn't. That would mean about the same thing as being depressed, something he never had a problem with. Arthur and Gilbert had this class before them…Roderich tapped his pencil against the desk thoughtfully. He was half-wondering how they had managed the test with questions like these. Maybe they varied from class to class? He'd have to ask later if he saw them at all.

Matthew scowled at the paper. Well once again, obviously the answer was "yes". But that was in part due to the problems from his previous year that he (still) had not quite gotten over. He had even tried taking medication to no avail. Matthew sighed and wrote "yes" down as his answer after all. If these were looked over by someone that knew where he was last year, they would know he was lying anyway if he put No.

Cruz made a face and wrote "no" again. How heavy is the world anyway? No one would be able to walk if they had that much weight on their shoulders, geez. At least phrase it with something plausible like "heavy weight on your shoulders" or something.

 **Are you easily emotional (do you cry for no reason)?**

… Roderich made a face. He knew quite well that Gilbert would have been laughing at this question. He had yet to even see Gilbert _upset_ much less crying. Roderich shook his head and wrote "no". If he was crying, there was a perfectly good reason to be doing so. Not that he would tell anyone (least of all, Gilbert) the reason for doing so in the first place (because more than likely if it was a person, Gilbert would punch the other person's lights out). That thought made Roderich smile.

Matthew hit his head on the desk in frustration. Okay. So obviously he was not doing well at all on this. Stupid…stupid stupid…having to be honest. Matthew raised his head and wrote "yes" AGAIN. He noticed Cruz watching him out of the corner of his eye and sunk in his seat a little. _'I'm okay…I'm okay…look somewhere else please~'_

Cruz watched as Matthew hit his head on the desk. "…" He was half-tempted to talk to the small blonde, but no talking was allowed while they were taking the test. Cruz left his gaze on Matthew as he lifted his head again and continued to write on the paper. Must remember to ask what that was about. Cruz shifted his own gaze back to the paper in front of him. Once again "no". The only emotion he had an issue with was anger (or frustration).

 **Do you feel as though no one understands how you feel?**

Roderich huffed. "No" once again. His mother always seemed to understand (even if Roderich told her she didn't). And Gilbert would always make it a point of at least _attempting_ to understand. So far, so good. There wasn't a single question he was having a problem with here.

Matthew blinked. Well. This one could go either way. It really depended on the situation. Alfred and Cruz usually understood how he was feeling (provided he wasn't lying about how he was feeling) so Matthew wrote "no" in response to the question (that might've been stretching the truth a bit. Not an all out lie though).

Cruz looked around the room. Seriously? Were they on video camera or something? "No." was once again his answer. When could he stop taking this stupid test?

 **Are you able to smile without forcing it?**

Roderich sighed heavily. "Depends on what the situation is" ended up being his answer with this one. He was a polite person, and usually smiled whether the other person had offended him or not. Being honest was better than lying on these. Though if you had been in an emotional facility the year before, lying was probably the best route to go. Roderich looked over at Matthew and saw he seemed to be having a mental conflict. And for others who are honest by nature, they're just…doomed.

Matthew was half-glaring at the test in front of him now. Why did all these questions have to be worded in the way that they were? Why did they have to take this in the first place? Matthew could have easily hit his head on the desk again, but didn't want to risk Cruz seeing it (for the second time). He sighed and wrote "no" again. Most of his smiles were forced, unfortunately. He was working on that.

 _…when do I smile?_ Cruz tilted his head. Uhhh… "yes" seemed like the good answer here. When he actually did smile, he could do so without force.

 **Can you talk to your family members about any problems you have?**

"Of course" Roderich nodded. That was a no-hesitation answer. He talked to his mother about pretty much anything already, why would he do so if he had a problem with telling her?

"No…" Matthew sighed again. This was NOT his day. At all. Not even close. Matthew was about ready to throw his pen up against the wall, but somehow got the feeling that wouldn't go over very well with their (slightly graying) teacher.

"No" Cruz scowled again. How could he talk to people who weren't at the house? _I suppose I can just talk to the wall, it would probably have the same effect._

 **Do you have one friend you use as a close confidant?**

Roderich hesitated. His mother counted as a friend, right? If that was the case then "yes" was the answer here. If not the case…then probably still yes, if he counted Gilbert (though he didn't tell the albino everything)

One friend…eh…no. Matthew sighed. He didn't talk to Alfred about anything really, unless they were just carrying on a conversation about nothing personal, it was the same with anyone, including Cruz, actually. They had been going out since the end of last school year and Matthew still had yet to actually open up to him. This was ridiculous. "no".

Cruz was getting extremely tempted to just crumple up the paper and hurl it at the front of the classroom. What the hell kind of questions were these? He didn't have anything to confide in anyone _about_ let alone telling everything to one person! _You might as well pay a damn therapist if you're just going to tell everything to one person! At least then you have some reassurance that the person isn't going to blab it all to somebody else!_

 **Do you feel more comfortable around friends than you do family?**

"No" Roderich shook his head. Of course he felt more comfortable with his mother than he did with his friends. She had been there much longer than they had been.

I don't feel comfortable with either one~ Matthew cried inwardly. How do I answer this?! "I feel uncomfortable around them both". Going for the honest route. He was going to end up back in that facility for sure. Damn it.

… well if his parents aren't home… that would make this answer a yes. _If I fail this damn thing on the technicality that my parents aren't home as often as most others…_ Cruz continued scowling at the test.

 **Do you feel as though there are things you need to work and improve on that were listed in the questions above?**

"No". Roderich looked over his answers. He didn't see any problems at all with what he wrote (other than it showed a complete lack of trust between himself and his friends but that was besides the point).

"Obviously yes" Matthew sighed heavily. That whole summer had gone by and he hadn't improved on one thing. Not one. Clearly he had his work cut out for him.

"No" Cruz let out a quiet sigh of relief once he had reached the end of the test. It was finally over. Those stupid questions. Cruz glanced over at Matthew and saw he had flipped the test over so it was blank-side up. _'I wonder how he answered…'_ Cruz tilted his head slightly. He knew Matthew was still having some problems with speaking up, but other than that, it looked like he had improved on everything else. He was smiling a lot more, and talking to Alfred more openly as well. Cruz nodded to himself. Everything was okay…right?

Roderich tapped his pencil on the desk. Okay so he needed to work on the lack of trust between himself and other non-relatives. That was obvious. But how was he supposed to do that? Just start going out more? Out of the question, he needed to study for school. That would have been over summer vacation (though he had to admit he spent a lot of it with Gilbert). Roderich's face reddened a bit. That was only because he kept coming over uninvited!

Matthew laid his head down on the desk with a quiet sigh. Four months. Four months since that trip to the emotional facility and where did it get him? To his junior year of high school with absolutely no change in behavior other than putting on a better act. That was just pathetic. Need to work on that. I need to start speaking up more, and maybe actually giving a real smile. Matthew sighed again. And hopefully Cruz didn't ask him about the test. He definitely did not want to answer that.

.

* * *

.

Lovino glared at the paper he was handed by Ludwig. Stupid knowledge test. Of course he didn't remember any of this crap from over summer vacation! Lovino scanned through the first question. Oh. Well this one was obvious. He circled A and went to the second question. Well hopefully they were all that easy. If not, it wasn't _that_ big of a deal, he could always rule out the two most ridiculous-how-would-anyone-pick-these answers and look at the last two more closely. Lovino nodded and re-read the second question.

Ludwig frowned and tapped his pencil against the desk. Math was definitely not something that he could understand. Gilbert never seemed to have a problem with it, but Ludwig could not understand these stupid rules. _'Und I'm normally the one who's following the rules anyway! Why is it not the same with math rules?!'_ Ludwig held his head in both hands and glared at the paper. Why did they have to take a knowledge test anyway? Couldn't they just have a refresher on what last year was about and then start from the math they were supposed to be learning this year?

Lovino hummed quietly to himself, already moving to the fourth question. These were so easy~ _'Bet that stupid Spanish idiot will be having more problems with this than I am!'_ Lovino circled an answer and moved to question five. He glanced up and saw Ludwig was glaring at the first problem. _'And apparently he is, too. Whatever!'_ Lovino shook his head and looked back at the test paper. If Ludwig hadn't paid enough attention to have these stupid rules memorized then that wasn't his problem! Lovino continued going through the test.

Ludwig sighed and started circling random answers. Damn it. It's a good thing these don't apply towards the final grade. What matters is that it's completed, right? Ludwig nodded to himself and kept circling. Half-way down the first page… Ludwig glanced over the answers and the equation before growling and circling a random answer again. These just did not make sense to him. Maybe Gilbert could give him a study session or something…but that would actually mean them both sitting in the same room without (somehow) getting into a fight. How do those fights keep getting started anyway? All Ludwig had to do was look in Gilbert's direction and it set his older brother off on a rant. Ludwig tilted his head slightly. Maybe it was the way he was looking at Gilbert? It might remind Gilbert of Vati…then again. Why aren't Vati and Gilbert getting along anyway? They seemed to be doing fine at the start of summer, but by mid-summer things had completely fallen apart again. What had happened?

Lovino looked up again and saw Ludwig was staring out the window, a far-off look on his face. _'Well he's not even going to finish if he can't concentrate on it. What an idiot.'_ Lovino looked back down at his own test and circled the last answer on the test. All done! That was fast. And pathetically easy. Lovino smiled confidently to himself and flipped the test back to the front and pushed it to the top of his desk. No need to worry about that anymore! If he failed it, then so be it. Lovino hastily scrawled his name at the top, realizing he had forgotten to do so.

Ludwig hastily shook his head and looked back at the test. He hadn't even realized his gaze had drifted out the window! Damn it! Ludwig glared at the question he was on before circling a random answer and started going through all the questions that way. Screw it. He obviously was not going to get anything besides a headache from reading these equations! He flipped the test over and circled random answers on the back of the test until he had gone the whole length of the page. Done! Ludwig pushed it away from him and sighed in relief. Definitely needed to spend more time studying math this year.

Lovino tapped his pencil against the desk, glaring at the clock which seemed to be moving in slow motion. Why couldn't they just leave once they were done taking their test? There was no point to them sitting here for almost forty-five minutes, was there? Maybe he could get a nap in…but the teacher probably wouldn't allow it. Lovino sighed and laid his head down on the desk. Screw it. The sleep he had gotten last night _sucked._ Even the extra hour this morning hadn't helped.

.

* * *

.

"Well good morning class! I'm sure you all are wondering what we're going to be covering in here!" Miss Summers clapped her hands together shortly after the bell rang.

Gilbert resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Another teacher with a super-long syllabus no doubt.

Arthur raised an eyebrow, but resisted the urge to make any sort of comment in retort. She would more than likely be telling them whether they had been wondering or not, anyhow.

"So, I shall tell you!" Miss Summers tilted her head and smiled cheerfully.

Gilbert glanced over his shoulder at the door, wondering how long it would take him to run for it. This teacher was NOT sane. Or in her right mind, either one. And she was entirely too cheerful for this early in the morning (not that he could talk).

 _Well, it would make things rather awkward if you didn't tell us._ Arthur wanted to say his response out loud, but bit down on his tongue instead. Getting in trouble for an attitude would not help. Especially not on their first day back from vacation.

"During the course of this class…we will be covering the basics in sewing and needlework, this may include knitting if I feel like it. And also we will be cooking~ Because I always get hungry at this time of day." Miss Summers skipped back to her desk, "And so that covers our syllabus~"

 _What._ Arthur stared at her in disbelief. _Sewing…and cooking…because she feels like it? What kind of teacher is this?_ He glanced over at Gilbert and saw the same look of disbelief (possibly even more so) on his face as well.

Gilbert gaped at the teacher in shock. This clearly was not your average run-of-the-mill teacher. She didn't have a syllabus written out, and she was only covering two things…and only because she wanted to do them. Seriously? This class was certainly in for a trip and a half.

"So that being said!" Miss Summers straightened up, "If you wanted a class that's strict and adheres to school policy, the door's over there." She motioned to the door, which was currently closed, "I suggest a schedule change and maybe you'll get a different teacher next time. Anybody leaving?" She glanced around the room, the smile still on her face.

Arthur just sat in shock. What kind of teacher would even say something like that?

Gilbert leaned on the table in front of him. _'I take back my initial thoughts of wanting to leave. This class is gonna be awesome~'_

"Don't be shy. I won't take it personally." Miss Summers waved at the door, "I get this response all the time, believe me." She laughed airily and glanced around the room again, "Or are you all just sitting in shock? Well then. I will take this to mean you'll address scheduling issues after the class with the office or something. And so! I would like to start this off by passing out…journals!" She held up a cardboard box.

 _What. Is. This._ Arthur looked at the box warily. There was no way he was writing in a journal.

 _'Aaaaaand I take that back about not wanting to leave after all.'_ Gilbert leaned away from the box that Miss Summers had plopped down on their table.

"Go ahead and pick one out of the box~" Miss Summers smiled cheerfully at the both of them.

Arthur reached in the box and pulled out a random journal, ending up with a dark green leather bound journal-notebook. Well then. Not a bad choice for not even looking in the box.

Gilbert stood up and peered in the box. He pulled out one that had a design on it and sat back down again. At least he got one with an awesome design. If he was gonna hate the thing, it might as well be an awesome hate. Gilbert flipped it open and glanced at the blank pages. The design was watermarked on each page, "…Awesome."

Arthur chuckled and looked at the blank pages in his own, "I wonder what we're writing in these…" he kept his voice to a whisper.

"Journals~ take a journal, any journal~ oh don't take one if you don't plan on staying." Miss Summers added quickly, "Otherwise I might not have enough for the people who decide they are!"

Arthur glanced up and saw several people sitting without journals. Actually…there was a LOT of people sitting without journals. "How many are not staying?" He whispered to Gilbert.

"Dunno. What'd they think this class was gonna be?" Gilbert shrugged, "Personally I thought it sounded fun."

"So I have two students who took a journal?" Miss Summers looked around the room.

"Well if you all don't wanna sit in this totally awesome classroom, we can get more done without you all~" Gilbert laughed, not even caring he was one of two.

Arthur just sat (once again) in shock. How were they the only _two_ planning on staying in here?

"Well if anyone changes their mind, they can come back tomorrow and pick up a journal." Miss Summers smiled cheerfully, "Now then, for the two who do have journals, you can write your names on the cover, these will be your personal journals, keep them with you."

 _'Oh great.'_ Arthur wrote his name in pen on the inside cover, sighing slightly. He looked up to see a couple people sneaking out the door while Miss Summers was leaning on their table. _'She said they could leave, why are they trying to be quiet about it?'_

Gilbert wrote in big bold letters "The book of AWESOME. Hands off Gilbert's journal" on the inside cover. He grinned and looked back at Miss Summers, not even caring that half the room had left out the door.

Miss Summers glanced around and saw they were the only three left in the room, "Well that cleared them out. Personal time!" She plopped on an empty stool across the table from Arthur and Gilbert.

"Are you allowed to teach a class of two?" Arthur raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. I do it all the time." Miss Summers burst out laughing, "Like I said, this happens a lot! I usually end up with a class of one though, so this year is a good one!"

"…one…" Arthur said in disbelief.

"Geez. I would have thought people would love this room seeing as how there's no unawesome syllabus to follow. Whatever~" Gilbert waved a hand carelessly, "What do we do with these?" He looked back down at the journal.

"Oh it's an elective course anyhow, people who don't want this class can transfer into English instead. This is an option to choose if you're doing well enough in the English course that you don't need it." Miss Summers smiled at Arthur, "And in response to you…" She looked over at Gilbert, "You write about your day of course!"

"…" Gilbert looked at Miss Summers blankly, "You got a lock for this thing?"

Arthur laughed in response to Gilbert, "Come now, you're not seriously thinking someone is going to read it?"

"I'm more worried about mein vati finding this. Or stupid mini-stiff." Gilbert scowled, "I want a lock."

"…I don't have journals with locks…You can probably just keep it hidden though~ Just put in a place they'll never look for one!" Miss Summers smiled cheerfully.

"In other words, hold onto it and never let go of it." Gilbert corrected.

"Orrrr that." Miss Summers nodded in agreement.

"So…we're writing about our days in this…for what reason?" Arthur tilted his head slightly.

"It helps to talk about things, even if it's just writing it in a journal." Miss Summers answered.

"…" Arthur sat in silence. _'Does she know where we were last year?'_

Gilbert raised both eyebrows but remained (for once) quiet. _'What…is this about? I don't trust this lady.'_

"So shall we cover cooking or needlework first?" Miss Summers clapped her hands together and looked between both of them. But before either one of them could answer, "Oh I know! We can do both at the same time and while the food is cooking we can sew or something!"

 _'I guess there was no real reason to participate in that decision making process.'_ Arthur thought to himself and glanced in Gilbert's direction.

"Ja sure. Multi-tasking, fun. This is gonna take a whole year?" Gilbert tilted his head.

"The more we cover, the better off you are in the real world!" Miss Summers laughed.

"Can't argue with that." Arthur leaned on the table with a sigh, "My cooking is horrible though."

"Practice makes perfect~" Miss Summers smiled.

"Ja, and you have me to help! I've never cooked a thing that didn't come already made though." Gilbert made a face.

"We start at the beginning then!" Miss Summers skipped over to the kitchen area that was in the room, "This is our kitchen!"

 _'I think we knew that much!'_ Arthur sighed and followed her over to the corner of the room.

 _'That's starting too much at the beginning even for us.'_ Gilbert followed along behind Arthur. Nice kitchen set-up though.

"We have a dishwasher here, so no one gets stuck with the dishes…" Miss Summers patted the top of their dishwasher, "And you can see here we have our stove (she motioned to it), our oven (underneath the stove), and our fridge~" She motioned to where the fridge was standing.

 _We could tell that just by looking._ Arthur bit the comment back and just glanced around the kitchen as she motioned to each object.

Gilbert opened the fridge door on reflex and peered inside, "…"

"This will be your personal kitchen for both of you. I have one kitchen setup for each class, so you can stock the fridge with anything you want~" Miss Summers smiled, seeing Gilbert was looking at the empty shelves.

"Oh. That'll be nice." Arthur looked at the inside of the fridge. It was pretty spacious too.

"Sodas, too?" Gilbert tilted his head.

"Even sodas! We have to snack on something while the food is cooking." Miss Summers made a face.

 _'Is she really our teacher…?'_ Arthur looked back at Miss Summers.

"Awesome~" Gilbert shut the fridge door.

"So if you have anything you want to make in particular, just bring in some ingredients for it and we'll switch cooking lessons for that day! Otherwise, I'll bring in ingredients as well!" Miss Summers continued smiling, "Oh, and I have knitting supplies for you two already, so don't go worrying about that either~!"

 _'…this class is going to be…interesting.'_ Arthur nodded in quiet response.

 _'This class is gonna be AWESOME.'_ Gilbert grinned.

.

* * *

.

Antonio's head dropped a bit as the teacher, Mrs. Specks (apparently the married couple was quite happy teaching at the same school), continued going over her (unfortunately) long (and boring) syllabus. She might as well have just held up the textbook and said they were going over everything in it. Antonio resisted the urge to roll his eyes and sleepily focused his eyes on the teacher at the front of the room. He hadn't quite been able to tell yet if she was around the middle ages, or that she was just aging with no grace at all (which wouldn't be a surprise at this school), but the oversized glasses really wasn't helping the middle-aged-teacher look. Antonio shook his head. This was not a time to focus on how the teacher's overall appearance! He focused his eyes on her again, and attempted to listen to what she was saying.

"…covering the biology of plant life…"

 _'Okay. This class is going to be seriously boring. What was the option instead of science again?'_ Antonio pulled out a small piece of paper from his pocket that had the list of electives on it that they could switch out with one of the main classes. _'…Music.'_ Antonio rolled his eyes. That option wasn't any better. But how much worse could music be? Think think think…

Okay worst-case scenario time. Antonio nodded to himself. What if when he got there they had to be required to play an instrument? He had no musical vein of blood in his body. So that was out. How about singing? He sang to Lovino a couple times last year, but most times (scratch that- all the times) Lovino had hit him over the head and yelled at him. Maybe it was just his timing. Antonio drummed his fingers on the desk. Well bands needed someone to set up the stage right? Maybe he could just do that. And he couldn't recall any time the school had held a concert anyway! There was the occasional Talent Show, but no concert. Maybe music class wouldn't be so bad. It had to be better than this.

Antonio glanced at the front of the room again. He had noticed that Ardrich, beside him, had fallen asleep with his head down on the desk. Well the guy had guts, and a lot of stupidity, to be marked as a student who slept during class the first day of school. Antonio shook his head and sighed slightly. Okay so he would go down to the office first thing after class and request a schedule change. Hopefully music class would be more entertaining. Antonio smiled a bit and let his gaze wander to the window. It might actually be a little fun!

.

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* * *

Other than the first section, it was mostly grammar edits.


	5. Hallway Shuffle

Note: Second bell has ended, the hallway linger-time of fifteen minutes has started

* * *

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.

Arthur sat at the empty table, now that Gilbert had left the room, drumming his fingers on the table-top. He'd go to his locker any other day, but the first day of school…there wasn't much point. He glanced down at the journal in front of him. Well maybe he could write in that instead of focusing on a random spot on the wall. He opened the cover and looked at the first page. Probably better to leave the first couple blank. Just to give the impression of not having used it. Arthur flipped to the fifth page and took his pen from his pocket. He had only brought it in the case of having to take a test or two, and in case any papers were handed out that needed filling out (which of course there had been one test so far, which he would rather forget about as soon as possible).

Arthur shook his head and tapped the pen point against the journal a couple times. What was he supposed to write about? There wasn't much to say…oh. Maybe that would help. An observation journal could help him keep his thoughts in order. Arthur wrote "Day One" across the top of the page and moved his pen two lines down.

 _1\. Discovered that Gilbert was in the same World History and Home Education (though the teacher is a little strange) classes._

 _2\. Gilbert seemed a little off today. Perhaps it's just because I haven't seen him in a while? Or Roderich unintentionally upset him this morning (more than likely not it, because I noticed Gilbert's strange behavior before Roderich said anything)._

 _3\. World History we had to take that stupid damned emotional aptitude test again! Hopefully I didn't fail it._

 _4\. It did bring up some thoughts of things I need to work on this year (note: Alfred, family, cooking)._

Arthur hesitated and read over what he had so far. He tapped his pen against the journal again. He put the cap back on his pen and closed his journal, thinking over the morning's events. Clearly there were some things that needed further thinking.

.

* * *

.

Lovino quickly fled the math room, sighing in relief when he was back out in the hallway, though he really had no idea why. The crowds were once again shuffling through. Oh well. Next class was World History. Lovino scowled and headed down the hall, back the way he had come before that last (waste of time) class. He noticed Ludwig seemed to be trailing along behind him, but didn't make an attempt to start a conversation. His class was probably in the same direction, that was all. Lovino shook his head and kept going. _'I wonder if Antonio and I have the same class at all…'_ Lovino tilted his head slightly before shaking his head, harder this time. Damn it! Not already! Lovino cursed and quickened his pace. If his locker was back down the stairs, it would be a pain to stop at it between classes, which meant he had to carry everything with him. Damn it. Year was not off to a good start already.

He paused outside his classroom for World History and noticed Ludwig stopped right beside him, "What?" He looked at Ludwig blankly, "You have this class, too?"

"…Ja." Ludwig nodded.

"…the hell. Why do I have to be in two classes with you?" Lovino stalked into the classroom without waiting for a response. That was rather rude, and he knew it. Damn it. Now he had to find the nerve to apologize to the stupid bastard.

"…Sorry?" Ludwig tilted his head and followed along behind Lovino.

"Don't apologize when you don't have anything to be sorry for!" Lovino snapped and glared at the board. No seating arrangement (thankfully). He headed for the back of the room instantly and sat in the left corner seat. Ludwig ended up sitting diagonal from him (why he chose there, Lovino had no clue).

Ludwig laid his pencil down on the desk. He had just chosen a random seat, deciding that Lovino probably did not want Ludwig sitting next to, or in front of, him so he sat diagonal instead. Ludwig looked up at the board, briefly wondering what they would be doing, before deciding that as long as it wasn't a knowledge test, he didn't really care at this point. Ludwig sighed, the math test had left him rather frustrated.

.

* * *

.

Gilbert wandered down the hallway and spotted Matthew up ahead, "Hey wait up~" Gilbert grinned at seeing the blonde turn around and he quickened his pace until he was walking beside him, "What's up?"

"Eh…that test in world history…" Matthew whispered, "…why…"

"Ja ja. Completely agree with you." Gilbert nodded, "And what the heck is that third party he mentioned? Did he tell you guys?"

"No…I'm a little worried about that…hopefully it's not our parents or some relative." Matthew sighed heavily.

"…" Gilbert froze momentarily but forced himself to keep walking, "If it's our parents I will personally shred the paper before they have a chance to look at it."

"But we don't even know when or how they're getting it…if they are." Matthew added quietly.

"I will keep an eye on the mailbox if I have to." Gilbert scowled. There was NO way he was letting his parents see that completely unawesome emotional whatever-the-hell-it-was test.

Matthew laughed, "What if they pick it up in person?"

"Then Roddy's going to have a permanent house-guest." Gilbert stuck his tongue out at Matthew.

"Ehhh~" Matthew laughed again, "I don't think he'd appreciate that!"

"Ja, well, he can deal. As much time as I spent at his place over the summer, I think his mutti is quite used to me by now." Gilbert grinned and glanced at the number of the room they were passing by, "Where is this classroom anyway?"

"Eh…should be just ahead…there it is." Matthew stopped in front of the door, "…Mrs…Specks."

"Wife of Mr. Specks no doubt." Gilbert grumbled and stalked into the room, "Terrific."

Matthew laughed again and followed him in, "Well at least we won't have to re-take that test again! Once and done, right?"

"Right." Gilbert nodded, "And no seating arrangements…which means I call back." He skipped to the back of the room, with Matthew following close behind.

"Right beside you." Matthew plopped down in the corner seat since Gilbert had chosen the one next to the corner location.

"We can keep each other awake." Gilbert grumbled, and promptly stretched his arms out across his desk, and laid his head down, "Good night."

"That was fast!" Matthew looked over at Gilbert, startled, "What happened to staying awake?"

"Wake me when she comes in." Gilbert waved his hand around, "I'm tired."

"Okay." Matthew turned to the front of the room and closed his eyes for a moment. _'I'm pretty tired too actually…'_

.

* * *

.

Antonio glared at his schedule as he was running from the science room and down the stairs again, "Seriously? Why do I have to have gym right after all this running to and from class?" He sighed and stuffed the schedule back in his pocket. Not watching where he was going, Antonio ran right into Roderich.

"Ah!" Roderich yelped and grabbed the railing to keep himself from falling down the stairs the rest of the way, "Would you watch where you're going?!"

"Sorry~" Antonio apologized hastily, "I was talking to myself and didn't see you there~"

"Geez." Roderich huffed, "Where are you headed in such a hurry anyway?"

"…Gym class ironically." Antonio sighed.

"Oh? I'm headed there, too." Roderich continued making his way (much more slowly) down the stairs.

"We're in the same class together? Yay!" Antonio skipped along down the stairs beside him, matching Roderich's pace, "Partners~"

"If we do any partner sports." Roderich responded.

"We always do." Antonio made a face, "Especially since they banned tackling. What else is there to do?"

"Touch-tackle?" Roderich tilted his head.

"Nah. The coach doesn't like that, he says it's for wimps." Antonio rubbed the back of his head. He was starting to suspect that their gym coach used to be a drill sergeant. That would explain all the yelling and the constant need to make them run laps and do push-ups.

Roderich sighed, "Of course he would say something like that. I wonder what sports we're going to be doing then? Tennis maybe?"

"Only if the coach sets up a plan where it's a point if you hit the other person." Antonio laughed, "Seriously, the guy is demented!"

"Oh great." Roderich grumbled, "This sounds like a class to switch out of. Why couldn't there be an elective option to take instead of having gym?"

"Because physical education is necessary for growing teenagers to have on a daily basis. It exercises and strengthens muscles that can be used in day-to-day tasks and helps fight against the growing number of fast-food restaurants in the area." Antonio responded, "I already asked." He added hastily upon noticing the look on Roderich's face.

"That was the answer you got?" Roderich stared at him in disbelief, "Why can't we just exercise on our own then?"

"Uhhh…because most people wouldn't?" Antonio tilted his head, an innocent expression on his face.

Roderich turned around the corner at the bottom of the stairs, "This is true. They might feel more motivated if they knew they got out of having gym class with a teacher like ours though."

"Yeah and that motivation would last maybe one day, if the person is feeling energetic enough after school." Antonio laughed.

"Then why can't they count the exercise we get in between classes? Going up and down that stupid stairwell…" Roderich huffed but kept going.

"Most people take the ramp." Antonio pointed out.

"Again, this is true." Roderich sighed heavily, "Okay so maybe our school has a reputation of doing things the easy way…"

"I think that's why our gym teacher came here. He's trying to change that." Antonio stopped in front of the locker room.

"Yes well, it's not going to happen without a fight from the group of lazy people in the student body first." Roderich grumbled, "But this is one fight, I am NOT participating in."

Antonio laughed and walked into the locker room, with Roderich following right behind him.

.

* * *

.

Alfred hurried away from the gym. Why did they even have to have gym on the first day? All they did was sit on the floor and do absolutely nothing. They could have at least played Flag Ball or something. Alfred sighed and looked at his class schedule. Study Hall was up next. "Hey, at least it's right after gym! So when I'm tired out I can totally take a nap!" Alfred grinned and hurried up the steps.

…

Come to think of it…why did the gym have to be on the first floor anyway? Most of the rest of his classes were up on the second floor. Like he really wanted to run up a stairwell right after gym class. Oh well. It was study hall so it doesn't matter much if he's late, right?

Alfred slowed down as he reached the top of the stairs, noticing Antonio go sprinting by him, and laughed as he walked out into the hallway. Leave it to the normally calm-and-relaxed person to be rushing around trying to get to class on time.

Alfred stopped in front of his classroom and glanced around the room as he entered. The room was almost completely empty except for a couple people sitting at different tables. His gaze settled on the table that was closest to the door. "Arthur~" Alfred hopped over and plopped on the stool next to him.

.

.

* * *

Grammar updates. Again.


	6. Third Bell

Some classes are skipped here and there to avoid repetitive-ness.

* * *

.

.

Arthur looked up, startled to hear the familiar voice calling him. He slammed the journal shut and forced a smile (damn it. Not again.) at Alfred. "You enjoy startling people out of their thoughts, don't you?"

"Well it's not like I could see you were occupied! You had your back to me!" Alfred laughed, patting Arthur on the back, deciding to ignore the journal-looking notebook in front of him for now.

Arthur shook his head, "Enjoying your classes so far?" That was the lamest attempt to start a conversation that Arthur could have possibly come up with.

"Math sucked." Alfred sighed, stretching his arms out across the table, "And gym class we didn't even do anything. Really the only person in my gym class that I'm slightly familiar with is Feliciano." Alfred laid his head down on the table.

"Oh? I'm in Gilbert's gym class, unfortunately after lunch." Arthur sighed, "Oh. Alfred, did Gilbert seem like himself this morning?" He glanced at Alfred curiously.

"Yeah, why?" Alfred blinked, "He was teasing Roderich just like he always does."

Arthur tilted his head slightly, staring off at a random point on the wall, "Maybe it really was just my imagination then."

"Tell me~!" Alfred latched his arms around Arthur's shoulders.

"Let go." Arthur's face reddened instantly.

"Tell me tell me tell me!" Alfred gave his best puppy-face towards Arthur, but the other male was unfazed.

"You need to seriously work on that." Arthur shook his head with a sigh, "Not even close to budging."

"Fiiiiiine." Alfred wilted and laid his head back on the table.

Arthur watched Alfred for a moment, "Hey. You didn't have World History yet, did you?"

"Nope. I have it the last class of the day." Alfred unfolded his class schedule and plopped it on the table.

"Huh. Good luck with it." Arthur looked away from him.

"Wait, what? We're not having a stupid knowledge test in history are we?" Alfred cried, "Tell me what's on it at least~"

"It's not a knowledge test. It's one of those stupid emotion tests." Arthur glared at Alfred, "Geez. If you studied a little more often those knowledge tests wouldn't be so hard, you know."

"Emotion tests are no problem." Alfred laid his head back down again, "And I totally study." It would probably be better to not ask how the emotion test went. Judging by the testy look on Arthur's face.

"I meant on your own, Alfred." Arthur retorted.

"That's no fun." Alfred pouted, "Going to Arthur's house in the middle of the night is so much more fun!"

"Stay at your own house!" Arthur snapped, "Besides you have math with Matthew this year. You can study with him."

Alfred pouted again, "Study group." He tugged on Arthur's sleeve, attempting the puppy-look again.

"Not happening." Arthur brushed Alfred's hand off, "Don't pull on my sleeve."

"…Well at least you didn't hit me on the back of the head for pouting at you this time!" Alfred looked at him cheerfully.

Arthur glared at Alfred in response, "If I hit you over the head every time you did that, you'd have brain damage."

Alfred pouted again, "Then Arthur can visit me in the hospital~"

"Don't go to the hospital." Arthur laid his head down on the table with a heavy sigh, "Those beds are not comfortable."

"Oh yeah. You guys had to stay in one last year." Alfred laughed, "Still, you all got to stay in the same room!"

"And had to listen to Gilbert and his dad arguing all damn night." Arthur snapped, "Oh the fun we had."

Alfred continued laughing, "I'm sure they're getting along better now!"

"I'm sure they're _not._ " Arthur muttered.

"They're not?" Alfred looked at Arthur startled.

"Not according to Gilbert. He said his dad got stiffer over the summer." Arthur glanced up at Alfred from the tabletop.

"Huh. I wonder what happened. They seemed to be getting along fine at the start of summer." Alfred tilted his head, "Maybe something was up with Gilbert this morning now that I think about it. He seemed paler than usual."

"That's what I thought, too. But he said his older brother is the cause of him looking like crap. I haven't met the other brother yet though." Arthur looked thoughtful for a moment. Mini-stiff...so all he really had to do was look for a shorter version of Ludwig, right? Depends on how short, Arthur might have already passed him in the hallway.

"Oh I didn't even know he had one. I knew Ludwig was younger than Gilbert, but I didn't realize there was a third." Alfred looked amazed, "Man, I feel sorry for their mother during that pregnancy."

Arthur sighed heavily. Of course that would be the first thing that came to Alfred's mind. Then again. He did recall Gilbert saying something last year about his mother and his grandfather not getting along. She would have had a difficult time even if it had been one child. Arthur made a face, "He said his older brother looked like Ludwig and his dad, so he calls him Mini-stiff, because he's shorter than Gilbert and Ludwig."

"The older brother is the shortest, and the youngest is the tallest." Alfred grinned, "At least Gilbert got to be in the middle! Though…if he were any taller his glare would be really scary."

Arthur gave Alfred a sideways glance. The glare was plenty intimidating as it was. Especially if someone mentioned the wrong subject around him. The emotional place last year had taught him that much at least. Do not, under any circumstance, make Gilbert mad…or annoyed, "Ludwig has pretty much the same glare though."

"Yeah. He really does." Alfred made a face, "Maybe it just runs in the family."

"Don't tell Gilbert he has something in common with his dad. You'd probably be on the receiving end of the glare." Arthur chuckled.

"Geez, why can't those two just get along?" Alfred sighed and laid his head back on the table again.

"Who knows." Arthur responded, now face-to-face with Alfred (even if they were separated by about ten inches).

"You have a pillow." Alfred grumbled, motioning to the journal.

"Yes, well, if you have Home Education you'll have a pillow, too." Arthur responded.

Alfred lifted his head enough to turn and glance at his schedule, "Sixth class."

Arthur took out his own class schedule, "…I have Science that bell."

"What do you have after this?" Alfred laid his head back down, facing Arthur once more, holding up the schedule in between them.

Arthur mimicked Alfred and looked at his schedule to refresh his memory, "Lunch."

"Hey so do I~ we can go to lunch together!" Alfred grinned, "Two classes with Arthur!"

"And neither one counts as a class." Arthur sighed, "Fifth I have gym."

"Fifth bell I have…Science. Ugh. Right after eating…I'm gonna fall asleep for sure." Alfred made another face and glanced at Arthur over the top of his paper.

"Seventh bell is…math. Why I have to have that class at the end of the day is beyond me. Honestly. The most boring class possible and it's at the very end when the chance of paying attention is slim to none." Arthur sighed and laid his paper down on the table.

Alfred laid his own paper down, "Well since I have science right before you, maybe we can see each other in the hallway~"

Arthur raised an eyebrow, "That's two bells after lunch Alfred. We'll have just seen each other."

"So?" Alfred pouted, "Only having two classes with Arthur sucks~"

"I told you, study hall and lunch do not count as classes!" Arthur made a face, "Maybe I can work on sewing or something since I have this right after my home education class."

"Why would you wanna sew instead of talking to me?" Alfred continued pouting.

"Oh grow up, Alfred. I can talk and sew at the same time." Arthur sighed, "You and that pout."

"It's better than my puppy eyes." Alfred laughed.

Arthur rolled his eyes in response, "You could just do neither one, you know."

"That's totally no fun." Alfred poked Arthur in the forehead.

"Idiot." Arthur waved Alfred's hand away, blushing slightly.

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Gilbert yawned and opened one eye to find class was already started. He glanced to his right and saw Matthew had his face buried in his arm and was fast asleep. "…" Gilbert looked back to the front of the room. Note to self. Never ask Matthew to be your alarm clock. He glanced down at his journal then back at Matthew. How was he supposed to wake him up without disturbing class? Cell phone, that's how. Gilbert sent a quick text to Matthew, hoping his friend had it on vibrate or something.

Matthew jerked when he felt a soft buzzing in his pocket. He took out his phone and gazed sleepily at the text message from Gilbert. **_You know class started, right? Wakey wakey!_** Matthew looked up at the teacher who was in the middle of (possibly) discussing the paper she was holding up. It looked like it might be the syllabus for the year. Matthew looked over at Gilbert, blushing slightly in embarrassment.

"See if I ever have you wake me up again for class." Gilbert hissed, "You're lucky _I_ woke up!"

"Ehh…sorry. I was tired." Matthew rubbed at his right eye and yawned.

Gilbert shook his head and turned his attention to the front of the room. Mrs. Specks was going on about something or other. He was pretty certain he had heard "parts of a cell" somewhere in there. Who cares what makes up a cell? Gilbert was half-tempted to lay his head back down on his desk and go back to sleep, but it was probably a miracle they hadn't been caught already.

Matthew leaned forward slightly and let his head land on his desk with a soft thud. The sleep had been so nice. He closed his eyes and used his arms as a pillow again.

Gilbert glanced over and saw Matthew had gone right back to sleep. What the heck. He's going to get in serious trouble. Gilbert pulled out his pen and tapped Matthew on the shoulder, "Psst…"

Matthew brushed the pen away with his hand and kept sleeping.

Gilbert made a face and tapped him again, "Mattie…wake up…" He was really doing his best to keep his voice down, but apparently it wasn't quiet enough because the teacher came to the back of the room.

"Tired?" Mrs. Specks smiled at both Gilbert and Matthew, even though the blonde was still asleep.

"Uh…" Gilbert pulled his arm back to his own desk and sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, "No, not really."

"You were fast asleep at the start of class. And your friend seems to be out." Mrs. Specks continued smiling (definitely not a friendly smile).

"First day of school, you can't tell me there's not going to be a few people falling asleep." Gilbert made a face, "I'm sure there are more than just us two who didn't get enough sleep last night!"

"I'm sure you can take up this discussion with somebody else. Mr. Williams." Mrs. Specks slammed her hand down on his desk.

Gilbert winced as Matthew jumped, but woke up. _'Poor Mattie.'_

"Eh?" Matthew blinked up at Mrs. Specks, his face turning red.

"Since you two are finding the time to fall asleep during class, perhaps it will be best if you two just leave and go down to the office instead. That was not a suggestion." Mrs. Specks smiled at both of them before turning and stalking back up to the front of the room.

"I can see how she gets along with Mr. Specks." Gilbert grumbled under his breath, grabbing his journal and stalking out of the room, but not before sticking his tongue out at the teacher's turned back.

Matthew hurried out after Gilbert, his face still bright red.

Gilbert cursed under his breath as he stalked towards the stairwell, "I did NOT want to be in the office today."

"Eh, I'm sorry~!" Matthew panicked, hurrying behind him, "I didn't even realize I had fallen asleep again!"

"That teacher is completely unawesome." Gilbert sulked, going down the stairs.

"Eh…I guess teachers like her are strict on their first day back…" Matthew sighed, "This is not going to be a good year."

"No, it's not." Gilbert agreed, "Unawesome teachers all around." Except for Miss Summers. She was cool.

Matthew followed Gilbert out of the stairwell and down the hallway towards the office. "A-are we going to get in trouble?"

"I think we already did." Gilbert answered flatly, "More than likely, long lecture about staying awake."

"Eh. I'm going to fall asleep during the lecture if it's too long." Matthew sighed again.

"Wouldn't recommend that." Gilbert laughed and pushed open the door to the office. He grinned at the secretary and waved cheerfully, "You're working in here again~"

"Back on the first day, Gilbert?" The secretary sighed.

"You missed my smiling face~" Gilbert grinned.

"I'm sure Mr. Smith didn't." The secretary responded, standing up and walking over to his door, "One moment."

"Ja ja." Gilbert waved a hand around and looked back at Matthew, "At least he knows to keep his expectations low."

Matthew laughed a bit, "I don't think that's a good thing!"

"Meh." Gilbert smirked and looked back at the secretary as she opened the door and motioned to them to go in, before returning to her desk, "Onward~" He skipped into the other room, followed by Matthew.

"Gilbert, really?" Mr. Smith looked at him over a paper he had been glancing at, "It's not even lunch."

"Ja, ja. I know that already." Gilbert plopped in an empty chair, "Not my fault the teacher is rude."

Matthew sat in the empty chair next to Gilbert and said nothing in response.

"What happened now?" Mr. Smith sighed heavily.

"Fell asleep." Gilbert grinned.

Mr. Smith hit his head on his desk, "Can't you two stay awake for _half the day?_ "

"Guess not." Matthew whispered, a sheepish look coming on his face.

"It's the first day back~ give us a break, would you? So we didn't get enough sleep last night." Gilbert sulked and leaned against the back of his chair.

Mr. Smith looked at the two, silent for a couple minutes.

Gilbert raised an eyebrow, noticing the principal was looking more in his direction than Matthew's, "What? I know I have a record about a mile long, but none of it is for sleeping."

Matthew quickly suppressed the laugh that was coming in response to Gilbert's comment. Laughing in the office (in front of the principal no less) probably would not be a good move.

"I'm curious to hear how you think you're getting into college with your long record." Mr. Smith responded.

"What makes you think I was even going?" Gilbert asked, tilting his head slightly, "High school is unawesome as it is, why would I go to an even more unawesome school to get a piece of paper?"

"…just what do you plan on doing the rest of your life? Working in a restaurant?" Mr. Smith sighed.

Gilbert tilted his head, a thoughtful expression passing over his face, "Hmm…do you mean besides living each day like it's the last awesome one I'm going to have?"

Matthew couldn't help it. He started laughing.

"Besides that, yes." Mr. Smith buried his face in his hands, "I'll never understand how you have such a strange outlook on life."

"How is it strange? Live life to the most awesome extent it can be~" Gilbert grinned, "That's totally not strange!"

"By sleeping during class." Mr. Smith responded.

"I told you. Not enough sleep last night." Gilbert retorted, sticking his tongue out at the principal.

"Fine. Then you both go to the nurse and sleep. If either of you are down here for sleeping for the rest of the day you're getting detention, is this clear?" Mr. Smith glared at both of them.

"Yes, _sir._ " Gilbert rolled his eyes.

"Yes." Matthew blushed and hurried out of the room the instant they were dismissed.

Gilbert followed along behind, waving cheerfully at the secretary as he went, "I think he got some more gray hairs since I saw him last."

" _GILBERT!"_

Gilbert ran out of the office hearing the yell from the principal, "Bye~!"

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* * *

Nothing but grammar updates.


	7. Trashcan Conversations

Just a bunch of word changing and such. Nothing major.

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Gilbert grinned at Matthew as they left the Nurse's station, both feeling slightly more rested than they had when they first went in, "So the lecture didn't turn out that bad after all!"

"Eh. No. But I still don't think I'm going to get along with that teacher." Matthew made a face and followed along behind Gilbert, "So we fell asleep during class, it's not like she woke us up at the start of it, so what was the problem?"

"She's just a hypocrite." Gilbert laughed and led the way to the cafeteria, "Don't focus on it. Let us focus instead on lunch~"

"Ehh…depends on what they're serving." Matthew hurried along after him, the other's strides were much longer than his own.

"Oh, ja, I dunno. I didn't look at the menus earlier." Gilbert stopped in front of the open cafeteria doors and glanced up at the signs. Fortunately there wasn't that big of a crowd yet. Gilbert shrugged and headed in.

"Eh…" Matthew hurried after him, after making a two-second decision that ended up being the salad bar. He headed for the line and saw Gilbert looking up at the menus again, "Can't decide?"

"Actually I'm not that hungry." Gilbert made a face. "Guess I'll just get a cold sandwich." He moved over to the far door and found no one else had gone in that entrance yet. "Hey, no line. Bonus." Gilbert skipped through the doors and picked up the first one he saw. No point in looking at what the sticker was. If it was inedible, chances are the others were as well. He grabbed a can of soda on the way back out again and made his way over to an empty table.

Matthew went through the salad bar and came out with a small plate of salad, though it was mostly lettuce without dressing or topping. Matthew shook his head and went out the door, glancing around the room for Gilbert. He spotted him near one of the windows and headed over to sit across from him. Taking the fork out of the plastic wrap it was in, he glanced up at Gilbert curiously (as his friend was just staring at the sandwich in front of him).

Gilbert made a face at the wrapped lump of bread. Shouldn't have even bothered. Now his stomach had decided to be totally unawesome and make him feel sick. Gilbert unwrapped the sandwich anyway. If Mini-stiff or Little Stiff heard he hadn't eaten at lunch, no doubt Big stiff would find out. Gilbert took a bite of his sandwich and glanced around for any sign of anyone else familiar.

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Arthur walked with Alfred down the hall (should have just walked separately) towards the cafeteria. Currently Arthur was stuck listening to Alfred voicing his hopes out loud that there was a (decent) hamburger on the menu. Arthur was hoping there was, too, if only so he wouldn't have to hear Alfred complaining the rest of the damn hour.

He paused outside the menus and noticed that there was, in fact, no hamburger listed at all. Pity.

"Well. At least they have pizza." Alfred shrugged it off and skipped into the cafeteria, without even pausing.

Arthur raised an eyebrow and headed after him, "What, no mourning?"

"Not for a hamburger. Besides, pizza is a close second." Alfred laughed, "And how often does our school serve pizza?"

"Not very often." Arthur admitted but went for the hot sandwich line anyway. Pizza was not high on his list of enjoyable foods, and he'd rather go for the hot turkey sub anyway. He noticed that there was a couple hamburgers sitting on the grill next to the subs and stared at them blankly, "I thought those weren't on the menu?" Arthur motioned to the burgers.

"Yeah well, we had a miscommunication. So anyone who wants 'em can have 'em." The cafeteria worker responded.

"…one sub and one burger." Arthur sighed. If Alfred found out there were burgers and Arthur walked right by them without getting him one, no doubt he would never hear the end of it. He walked out with both plates on his tray and grabbed a cold tea with one hand while balancing the tray with the other. Spotting Alfred just ahead of him, Arthur quickened his pace and moved the hamburger plate from his tray to Alfred's, "Guess what."

"Oh sweet! Yay~ Thanks Iggy!" Alfred (somehow) balanced his tray enough to give Arthur a one-armed hug and happily skipped back to the table where he had seen Gilbert and Matthew sitting.

Arthur's face blushed red but he followed along behind Alfred and sat across from him, next to Gilbert (since Alfred had plopped down beside his brother).

"Gym, study hall with Iggy, and now lunch~ This day is awesome so far!" Alfred grinned cheerfully, "And even better, I got a burger~"

Arthur rolled his eyes and glanced at Gilbert. He noticed that Gilbert was eating the sandwich in front of him, but it looked like he was forcing himself to, "Is it that bad?"

Gilbert looked at Arthur, "The bread's a bit stiff." He lied flatly. This would be SO NOT AWESOME if he got sick in the cafeteria. Maybe it would prompt the cafeteria staff to improving their food though.

"Eh…" Matthew munched on a piece of lettuce, "The day's been alright so far I guess…" Except for World History…that was just…awful. He wanted to crawl under the table and hide just thinking about the test they had taken.

"Just alright?" Alfred glanced at him, "Did someone run into you again?"

"Eh. No." Matthew quickly shook his head, "No…it's just…tests."

"I know! My brain is still fried after that math one this morning!" Alfred pouted and happily ( _'How did he eat it so fast?!'_ Arthur gaped) finished off the burger, "Thanks for getting me one, Arthur~"

"…" Arthur looked from the empty plate and back up to Alfred, "Clearly there would have been an absolute _tragedy_ had I not."

Alfred pouted again, "I like burgers. Give me a break."

"The hand you didn't break before or the same one?" Arthur smirked in response. He couldn't resist that one. Alfred had walked right into it.

Alfred made a face, "I don't need that again, thank you anyway. Uh by the way, Gilbert, if it's that bad, take it back."

Arthur and Matthew both looked at Gilbert and saw he had leaned over the chair beside him coughing.

Matthew looked at him, worried, "A-Are you okay?"

"I'm good." Gilbert waved his hand in attempt to convince them, "Just got the stiff bread stuck in my throat."

"Hm. You have no luck with stiffs." Arthur commented, taking a bite of his own sandwich.

"Really?" Gilbert straightened up and glared at him, "You even compare my bread to them?"

"I'm just saying…" Arthur sighed.

"Ja, ja." Gilbert continued munching on the sandwich, clearly against his better judgement, because now his stomach was in full protest. Gilbert quickly put the sandwich down and covered his mouth with one hand, acting like he was trying to cough with the mouthful.

"Dude. Drink before taking another bite." Alfred looked over at him. Man. Never seen him have a problem with eating before. Huh… I wonder if that goes with Arthur saying about him not looking like himself this morning? Maybe he's sick?

Matthew looked up as Cruz sat down on the right side of him, "Eh, hello."

"Long time no see." Cruz grumbled, "Stupid math class. That was damn awful."

"Eh?" Matthew panicked, "What happened?"

"Ha ha, knowledge test right?" Alfred laughed.

"No. The knowledge test I couldn't care less about. It was that damned blonde sitting in front of me." Cruz snapped at Alfred, "He's annoying!"

Gilbert glanced over at Cruz, "Blonde?"

"Yeah, your older brother I guess. That's what your other brother said in gym anyway." Cruz shrugged and snapped the cap off of his drink.

"Mein gott…" Gilbert rolled his eyes, "Don't envy you a bit. As long as he's not in any of my classes, I don't care where he's at, no offense."

Antonio skipped over and sat to the left of Gilbert, glancing around the table, but not interrupting the conversation. No lunch with Lovi. Antonio sighed wistfully. Maybe Lovi could get moved to this lunch.

"None taken. Don't be surprised if he comes home with a black eye." Cruz remarked, taking a gulp of his drink.

Matthew looked at Cruz, hesitating. Say something or not…say something or not… Matthew shook his head fervently and started eating again.

"Something wrong?" Cruz blinked at Matthew, confused.

"No." Matthew responded hastily. It's a good thing there wasn't a question about how often they lied about being okay on that stupid test. He'd be back in that emotional facility the next morning. With the counselor that was related to Lovino that could look straight through you and somehow know exactly what you're thinking.

Alfred tilted his head, mimicking Cruz who had done the exact same thing.

Antonio glanced to his right and saw Gilbert seemed to be coughing, or trying to. He must have had something in his mouth though. Strange. He looked almost in pain. Antonio looked at his friend in worry.

Arthur put his own sandwich down and looked at Gilbert, "…" He was half-glaring at the albino, telling him silently that if he was going to be sick to _please_ do it elsewhere.

Gilbert just smirked at him and waved cheerfully, "Problem?"

"There's going to be." Arthur snapped and went back to eating.

Alfred looked between Arthur and Gilbert, confused, "Huh? Did I miss something?"

"No." Gilbert answered flatly, "He's just being paranoid."

"I'm being what now?" Arthur glared at Gilbert again.

"You heard me." Gilbert responded.

"…I must be paranoid, too then." Antonio commented, blowing on his soup, since his first attempt to drink it had ended up burning his tongue.

Gilbert stuck his tongue out at Antonio and left the rest of his (poor excuse of a) sandwich laying on his tray. Definitely going to be spending the next class in the nurse's office. Again. If he was lucky, he might not even end up getting… Gilbert leaned back and noticed a trash can nearby. Fortunately the table right next to it was empty. He grabbed his tray and ran over to the trash can.

Arthur watched Gilbert throw his trash away and raised both eyebrows as he saw Gilbert double-over the trash can. He's seriously getting sick. Right. There.

Alfred glanced over the top of Cruz's head at Matthew, not noticing where Gilbert had gone (or what he was now doing). He raised an eyebrow at Cruz, silently asking him what the heck happened between him and Matthew.

Cruz just stared back at Alfred. If he was trying to communicate with mind-power it wasn't working. He couldn't tell what the blonde was thinking. Or for that matter, why he was looking in this direction to begin with. Cruz was tempted to tell him off but instead went back to drinking his lunch (didn't feel brave enough to try the food options).

Matthew tapped his fork against his empty plate, well aware of the glances that were going over the top of his head. _'I should just move.'_ Matthew glanced at Antonio, who was now drinking his soup (why did he even get a spoon?), then looked to Arthur, who was staring off to his right. Matthew followed his gaze and saw Gilbert leaning over a trashcan. _'…I guess the sandwich really was bad.'_ He finally turned to look at Alfred, somewhat annoyed by this point, "Should I move so you can communicate better?"

"You're fine where you are." Alfred blinked at him, "Didn't realize I was bothering you."

"I can see you staring over the top of my head out of the corner of my eye, and yes, that's slightly bothering me." Matthew responded flatly. He stood up abruptly and carried his tray to the trashcan Gilbert was at.

Gilbert was just leaning on the rim of the trashcan nonchalant, "Done?"

"Yeah. Done with lunch and done with sitting here." Matthew dumped the tray into the trashcan, (unfortunately) noticing that Gilbert had, in fact, gotten sick. "Are you going back to the nurse's office?"

"Ja, probably." Gilbert remarked flatly, "Because that sandwich was freaking awful."

Arthur turned his head back towards Alfred, raising an eyebrow at the exchange of words (that he had missed entirely while watching Gilbert) that had occurred between him and Matthew.

Alfred made a face in response to the look on Arthur's face and finished eating his pizza. He glanced over in Matthew's direction, but his younger twin showed no sign of coming back over. Rather he looked like he was having a conversation with Gilbert next to the trash can. Alfred looked at Cruz, and he seemed to be watching Matthew as well. Alfred sighed and redirected his attention back to his now-almost-empty tray. No food, but at least he still had his soda.

Cruz frowned in the direction of Matthew, who was currently talking with Gilbert, next to a trashcan for crying out loud. It seemed like he had a sudden mood swing, since the response towards Alfred had seemed rather snappy (at least from Cruz's point of view, and if _he_ thought it was snappy, than no doubt Alfred had been thinking about the same thing). Cruz held his half-full bottle in front of him, slightly lifted off the table, still looking towards Matthew (who had his back turned towards the table).

Arthur took out his diary and started writing in it once more. _Lunch today seemed rather strange. Gilbert got sick after eating one of the cold sandwiches for some reason, perhaps he's sick and that's why he doesn't look like himself? He seems paler than the last time I saw him. And his eyes don't have the same…pardon the awful way of putting it, but I really have no other word to think of, shine to them anymore. Last year they held a boundless energy…and today it's just…like there's…nothing. Matthew doesn't seem to be himself either. He must have had an argument with Alfred because now he's standing with Gilbert (next to a trashcan) holding a conversation. Why would you talk next to a trashcan? Especially one that someone just got sick in! Doesn't seem like today would be the best day to talk to Alfred. He probably has enough on his mind with his brother._ Arthur closed the diary, ignoring the look he was getting from Alfred now.

Alfred tilted his head as Arthur had started writing in the notebook he had seen him with earlier. Were they supposed to write their reactions to situations in it? Or he was just keeping notes on something. But there really wasn't much to take notes about now, was there?

Antonio decided it to be best not to intervene with anything going on, and instead turned his head to look further down the table where he could plainly see two people sitting side-by-side. _'…I don't think the cafeteria is the most private spot to do that.'_ Despite it being rude, he found himself watching the oblivious couple (well as close as they were sitting to each other, it gave off that impression). He was pretty certain he had them both in one of his classes before, though not so far today. It must have been last year. What were their names again? Pretty sure the one with (strangely) white hair was Emil Steil-something. Come to think of it…why did he have white hair anyway? He wasn't albino, his eyes were blue. That's strange. Maybe genetics screwed up or something. Lukas was the one sitting across from him, that Antonio could remember at least (even if the last name escaped him). _'I wonder when they started going out…'_ Antonio thought about the idea for a moment. Well. They had looked like close friends last year. Antonio nodded and turned his head back to the other three sitting at his table (hadn't it been four a minute ago?). He leaned forward and spotted Matthew and Gilbert by the trashcan. That was certainly an odd spot to talk. And judging by the looks of the other three at the table, he had tuned out something that had happened. Oh great. Antonio sighed. _'I wish Lovi was in this lunch…I miss my Lovi~'_

Gilbert noticed Cruz glaring in their general direction and made a face at Matthew, "I think someone wants you to sit back down at the table."

"Someone is going to be disappointed then." Matthew said flatly, "Because I'm leaving the cafeteria."

"Sure. You can walk me to the nurse's office and hold me upright." Gilbert joked before pushing himself off the trashcan, "Back to that stupid bed again."

"Right behind you." Matthew followed along with him.

"Ach." Gilbert froze, "One moment." He hurried back to the table and picked up his journal off the top, "Gimme. I'm heading out, later~" Gilbert grinned the best that he could and tousled Antonio's hair before re-joining Matthew and exiting the cafeteria.

Cruz watched as Matthew left before leaning back in his seat again, "…"

"Well then. Something happened there and I have no clue what it was." Alfred blinked in confusion, "Did I say something that offended him?" He glanced over at Cruz.

"How the heck should I know?" Cruz glared at Alfred.

"…" Arthur looked back and forth between the two. The person keeping the fight from breaking out was now gone. Terrific. He glanced over at Antonio and noticed his gaze had gone further down the table where two people were sitting. Arthur quickly averted his gaze. Didn't need any more reminders about needing to talk to Alfred. And how was he supposed to go about doing that anyway? Damn it. Arthur picked up his journal and started hitting himself in the head with it.

"Uh…Arthur…" Alfred tilted his head, "A-are you okay?"

"Perfectly. Fine." Arthur grumbled, continuing the process of hitting himself in the head.

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More typo fixing and grammar updates.


	8. Oldest does not equal most mature

Timeskip to next lunch bell.

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Lovino stalked through the hall, fortunately the cafeteria wasn't that far from the gym and he could just go up the ramp and there it was. Thankfully. And even better, the crowd was still coming out, which meant there was hardly anyone in line. Lovino managed to squeeze his way through the group of people exiting and instantly head for the line with pizza. It was as close to Italian food as he was going to get today apparently, but it worked fine. Lovino glanced over his shoulder, looking at the group of people exiting (not looking for Antonio!), but didn't see anyone he recognized. "Guess there's no real way to tell who I have lunch with until we're all here." Lovino sighed (still NOT referring to Antonio!) and made his way towards the (thankfully) empty counter.

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Ludwig moved down the hall, trying to get to the cafeteria, and completely ignoring the shorter person following him. Why did this person have to be in three of his classes? Granted lunch wasn't really a class, it still meant he had to tolerate being in the same room. Hopefully, his oldest brother wouldn't sit anywhere _near_ him. Ludwig glanced around at the crowd exiting the cafeteria still, but didn't see any sign of Gilbert. Either he had already left, or they had lunch together. And somehow Gilbert and Ardrich having the same lunch gave him the distinct impression that it wouldn't end well. Ludwig sighed and headed for a random line in the cafeteria, not really caring where he ended up. Apparently, he was going to have a salad for lunch.

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Roderich stalked from the science room. He was definitely switching to music after today. Why he didn't do that to begin with, he couldn't remember now. That teacher was as bad as the history teacher was! Well that explained why they were married, of course, but still. Roderich shook his head and huffed to himself, continuing to make his way towards the cafeteria. He half-expected to see Gilbert, either outside of it waiting until the crowds went down (which seemed to be a habit of his for some reason) or waiting for Roderich to show up before he went to class, but there was no sign of Gilbert anywhere in the hall. "Huh. I wonder if he got in trouble already?" Roderich shook his head. Even Gilbert wouldn't get sent down to the office on the first day of school…hopefully.

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Lovino made his way to a table in the back corner and plopped down at it. One of the only round tables in the room even, and at least sitting here he could stare out the window if the current topic of conversation was boring him. Lovino munched on his slice of pizza, glancing around the cafeteria. He spotted Ludwig at the salad bar (not that guy again!), and it looked like Roderich was right behind him in line. Huh…well that's two people he recognized. He watched as both made their way back to the table he was sitting at (no idea when they saw him sitting where he was).

"Well, I personally want a schedule change of several classes." Ludwig sat down, somewhat forcefully slamming his tray on the table.

"That bad?" Roderich raised an eyebrow and sat in between Ludwig and Lovino.

"Ja. Und he's coming now." Ludwig scowled.

Lovino looked up to see a smaller (and obviously less friendly, ha…ha…ha) version of Ludwig coming over to the table, "And who is _he_?"

"Oldest brother." Ludwig grumbled, "You know, you can sit somewhere else." Ludwig scowled at Ardrich. Translation: Sit somewhere else before I kill you.

Roderich raised an eyebrow. He had heard numerous complaints from Gilbert about him, and obviously all complaints had no exaggeration to their tales. Well then. So much for thinking Gilbert was just being anti-social towards his family.

"I don't feel like sitting with a bunch of people I don't know." Ardrich snapped in response, and sat down anyway.

"Have we met?" Lovino raised an eyebrow, "Because I don't think we have, which means you're _still_ sitting with people you don't know." He gave a little mock wave, which prompted Ludwig to smile in response (smile at someone else, bastard).

"Mm. I don't think I've met you either." Roderich agreed and quietly sipped his drink. Heard of. Haven't met in person.

"Yeah but I'm still sitting with someone I _do_ know." Ardrich glared at both of them.

"This is my idiot older brother, Ardrich." Ludwig smirked, motioning to the blonde who (for some unfathomable reason that Ludwig couldn't come up with) had sat next to him.

"I am not an idiot!" Ardrich snapped at Ludwig.

Lovino rolled his eyes and continued eating his pizza. No point in getting involved with this.

Roderich sighed and started eating his salad, deciding it would be best for his temper to ignore the shorter blonde that was currently sitting at the table.

"Ve~" Feliciano hopped over cheerfully and plopped down next to Lovino, "We have the same lunch, Luddy~"

Lovino mentally slapped a hand to his forehead. There were three other empty chairs at the table, why couldn't he sit in one of _those?_ Why right there?! Lovino scowled and continued eating, ignoring the appearance of the conversation-hijacker.

Ardrich on the other hand, seemed to perk up instantly at the sight of Feliciano. Ludwig noticed his brother's sudden change in demeanor and rolled his eyes, "Hallo, Feliciano." He sighed and started eating his salad.

"Oh you look like Luddy, who are you?" Feliciano tilted his head at Ardrich.

"Technically since I was born first, he looks like me." Ardrich corrected, "I'm Ardrich."

Ludwig looked upwards at the ceiling. Not an eyeroll big enough for that comment. Why he felt the need to keep saying over and over that he was the oldest was something else Ludwig could not figure out. _Height complex maybe?_

Lovino exchanged glances with Roderich, clearly both of them were having the same opinion in their minds about the oldest brother. Lovino shook his head and continued eating. Oldest definitely did not mean most mature when it came to those three. If anything it went the opposite direction. So did height apparently. … "You know for being the so-called 'oldest' you're rather short." Lovino commented, not really caring if he ticked off the other person.

"Lovi, that's mean!" Feliciano looked at Lovino with a hurt expression.

Roderich smiled behind his tea bottle. He was in complete agreement with Lovino, but decided that staying out of the argument would probably be best. At least for the moment.

"Nein, he is short." Ludwig interjected flatly, "It was just stating the truth."

"I am not short! I bet I'm going to have a huge growth spurt and be as tall as Vati." Ardrich snapped, both at Lovino and Ludwig.

"You keep telling yourself that." Lovino said flatly, "Let me know how much you lose on the bet, too." He took a sip of his drink quite calmly, and noticed with some amusement that Ludwig had almost spat out the mouthful of drink he had taken in favor of laughing.

"Don't listen to Lovi~ I'm sure you'll grow taller!" Feliciano smiled cheerfully.

"So what's your name anyway?" Ardrich glared over at Roderich, "I already know his name."

"Just for your information, it's Lovi- _no ,_ not Lovi." Lovino snapped.

"Whatever. Either way the name is dumb." Ardrich waved his hand around dismissively.

"I dare you to say that in front of Antonio." Ludwig commented.

Roderich looked amused, "I don't feel like telling you my name. I have no intentions of being referred to as an acquaintance of yours, much less a friend."

"Is calling my name dumb seriously the best insult you can come up with?" Lovino gaped in disbelief, "That's like we're in elementary school all over again."

"Why are you two being so mean?" Feliciano pouted, "I think Ardrich is nice~"

"…You seriously need to get your opinion of people a tune-up." Lovino commented, "Because _that,_ " he motioned to Ardrich, "Is not nice."

"What do you mean ' _that_ '?" Ardrich glared daggers at Lovino.

"I think it was pretty self-explanatory." Ludwig commented.

Lovino withheld his grin and finished off his drink, the pizza having been finished a little bit ago. Fortunately, otherwise he would be throwing it at Ardrich in frustration. _Maybe I'll take back my previous thoughts on Ludwig. He might actually be pretty cool._ Deciding to tune out whatever conversation Feliciano was now starting with the stupid-oldest brother, Lovino turned his head towards Roderich instead.

"Does he always act like this?" Roderich asked Ludwig, not bothering to keep his voice down.

"Ja. Annoying isn't it?" Ludwig sighed, "He's even worse around Gilbert. Those two are like oil and water."

"So I heard." Roderich smiled and finished his drink. He glanced down at his empty plate, having eaten it while the arguments went back and forth.

Lovino was half-wondering how Ludwig and Gilbert even put up with this guy, but then again, he put up with Feliciano's quirks for this long. Lovino sighed. Must be a family-love-you-even-if-I-hate-you thing.

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More grammar updates.


	9. Home Ec and Study Hall

In case anyone is reading this and doesn't know or remember the reasoning behind my choosing which classes to update with, I asked reviewers which ones they would rather read, and the ones I wrote were the ones chosen.

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 **Home Education: Sixth Bell**

Antonio clung to the Italian's arm that was sitting to his right. _Finally have a class with Lovi~_ Alfred was sitting across from Antonio, watching the interaction between the two with a look of great amusement on his face. By the sounds of it, Lovino was muttering curses under his breath directed at Antonio, but, being as happy as he was, Antonio just ignored them.

Alfred tore his gaze away from Antonio and Lovino and glanced around the room. This was the class Arthur got the journal in, right? Their teacher had yet to show up, but she might have had "watch-duty" in the cafeteria the class before this, so Alfred made no complaints. Besides, home education had to cover cooking right? This class was going to be awesome~

"Sorry I'm late!" Miss Summers hurried into the room and dropped a box off on her desk, "I got distracted after my cafeteria duty and…wow this is a small class." She glanced around the room. There were only seven students in the room, "Is this it?"

Lovino raised an eyebrow. Why was she even asking that? Doesn't she have a class roster to compare names to?

Miss Summers picked up a paper off her desk, "…I'm missing quite a few. Well then. Apparently some rumors went around from some of my earlier students and they decided to switch already." Miss Summers clapped her hands together, "Well ignoring that, I'm sure most of you know me from last year, I was teaching World History to you all when you were sophomores."

Alfred nodded in silence. She was a fun teacher to have. And if she was teaching this class, it was going to be even more fun…but still…what kind of rumors would make half the class not show up?

"So I would like to hand out some journals here…oh are you leaving?" Miss Summers looked up as someone hastily made his way towards the exit, "Okay, have fun!" She waved as he shut the door behind him, "Okay, now I'm handing out journals."

Lovino looked over his shoulder at the closed door, "What kind of rumors were these?"

"I didn't hear anything." Antonio blinked, the dazed smile still not leaving his face, "That's odd."

"You three get to choose first! Oh don't take a journal if you don't intend on staying in the class by the way. These journals will be used by you only. I have no intentions of ever collecting them, they are merely for writing down your thoughts in. Such a thing is helpful, I assure you." Miss Summers smiled cheerfully at the now-class of six, placing the box down on the table that Alfred, Antonio, and Lovino were sitting at.

Alfred peered in the box and pulled out one with the American flag on the cover. "Got mine!" Awesome cover~

Antonio finally let go of Lovino's arm and peered into the box, pulling out an emerald colored notebook. It was the first one laying on top anyway, and he didn't feel like digging through the box.

Lovino stood up to look in the box and pulled a notebook out of the bottom. He had seen the tomato print sticking out of the bottom of the stack when he first peered into it. Lovino plopped back down on his stool and glared at Antonio who was now laughing.

"Perfect notebook choice for Lovi~!" Antonio smiled cheerfully.

"Shut it." Lovino snapped, his face reddening.

"Go ahead and write your names inside the cover for those." Miss Summers smiled and skipped over to the other table of three, "And you three, are you picking journals as well?"

Alfred turned and watched as the three at the other table picked out journals.

"I get a class of six this year!" Miss Summers spun back to her desk and plopped the box back on top. "This is the most students I've had in a class." She smiled cheerfully, "Excellent~"

Lovino looked up from writing his name in his notebook and stared at the teacher in disbelief. Six is the _most_ students she's had?

"Uh…what's the least number?" Alfred raised a hand, looking doubtful all of a sudden.

"The least I've had is one. But this year the least I have is two." Miss Summers tilted her head, "That's my second bell class actually."

Alfred blinked and lowered his hand. _'…Isn't that Arthur and Gilbert? That's what they said their second class was this morning…'_

 _'What two idiots would stay in a class by themselves?'_ Lovino just gaped in disbelief. He had finished writing his name, so it's not like he could leave the room now. Besides, Antonio wouldn't let him leave the room anyway (and this _was_ the only class they had together).

"So in the back of the room you will see five kitchen set-ups. Yours is the second to the last on the right side. It's equipped with all appliances we might need for cooking. Since there are six in here, we can do groups of three and alternate who's cooking on what days. Then the other three can…sew." Miss Summers held up needlework and thread with a smile.

Lovino wilted in his seat. Oh great. Now they had to sew, too. Well that was something one would expect from home education.

Antonio watched Miss Summers, debating whether or not to mention he had never sewed before in his life. Cooking was no big deal…sewing on the other hand…well maybe he could get some help from his mom if need be. Antonio latched onto Lovino's arm again and rested his head on the Italian's shoulder, causing the male to go bright red.

 _'Sewing…Arthur does knitting sometimes right? I can just ask him for help~_ ' Alfred glanced across the table. _'Oh. Lovino's face matches the tomatoes on his notebook.'_

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 **Study Hall- Eighth Bell**

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Gilbert used his journal to repeatedly hit himself in the head. Of all the unawesome people to be stuck with in study hall, did it have to be mini-stiff? Seriously? Mattie was awesome. Didn't mind having study hall with him. But why does mini-stiff have to be in here, too?!

Matthew watched Gilbert in concern, tilting his head slightly as Gilbert continued hitting his head with the journal from home education class. He had a journal that was a dark purple sitting on his own desk, but he wasn't tempted to hit himself with it. Then again, it might have had something to do with Gilbert's brother sitting on the opposite side of the room, "Eh…at least he's not sitting over here…"

"If he was sitting over here, I'd already be gone." Gilbert grumbled, holding the notebook against his forehead.

"…are you feeling better now at least?" Matthew asked quietly, attempting to change the subject.

"Ja." Gilbert put the journal back down on his desktop, "I'm just not going to be getting the stupid cold sandwich again."

Matthew laughed, "If it makes you sick that fast, then that would probably be a safe conclusion to reach."

"Oh by the way, what's up with you and Cruz anyway? I haven't seen this many problems between you two since before that unawesome trip we took last year." Gilbert leaned forward curiously.

"Eh. I'm not really sure what is 'up' between us. I think it's just me." Matthew tilted his head slightly, "I haven't changed all that much since last year." _'I don't think I changed at all.'_

"Huh…" Gilbert mimicked Matthew and tilted his own head, "Well if you put it that way, I don't think I changed that much either. I'm still not getting along with anyone at home, except for mutti."

Matthew sighed, "I don't think I learned whatever it was I was supposed to last year."

Gilbert burst out laughing, "Well if you didn't, I sure as heck didn't, either. You were in more classes than I was!"

Matthew smiled and leaned on Gilbert's desk, "Maybe I should take this time to set some goals…" He glanced out the window.

"Ja, goals would be good. Except I can't think of any." Gilbert glared at his journal, "I haven't written a thing down in this and I've been carrying it all day."

"Eh, not one sentence?" Matthew blinked.

"Does hands off the book of awesome count?" Gilbert smirked and showed him the front cover.

"…I don't think so. I think it only counts if something is actually on one of the pages…" Matthew laughed anyway.

"Meh." Gilbert closed his journal again and laid his hands down on top of it, "If I write things down in it, there's more of a chance someone's going to read something I don't want them to."

"So just keep it with you?" Matthew tilted his head again.

"…what am I supposed to do, hug it when I'm sleeping?" Gilbert laughed, "No, thank you. I'll just use it as a pillow in study hall."

"Or you can just leave it here." Matthew suggested, "In your locker."

"With my luck that would be the day they organize those stupid locker searches and confiscate it for whatever unawesome reason they can come up with." Gilbert grumbled and leaned back in his chair. How much longer until school let out for the day anyway?

"…locker searches…" Matthew blinked.

"Ja. They did those last year, too." Gilbert looked at him confused, "Didn't you hear about them at all?"

"No." Matthew shook his head, "But suddenly… that would help some things I've been confused about make sense."

Gilbert blinked in confused, "What?"

"Eh…nothing." Matthew reddened.

"Were you hiding something in your locker last year?" Gilbert teased.

"No." Matthew quickly looked out the window again, "Nothing."

"Liar liar~" Gilbert laughed, poking Matthew's shoulder, "You're not even looking in my direction when you say that~"

Matthew brushed Gilbert's hand away and made a face at Gilbert in response, "Oh, you remember Roma from last year right? The counselor with the small class?"

"Unsubtle change of subject, but ja." Gilbert tilted his head, "Why?"

"Did you get the feeling when he was looking at you like he could read your mind and know exactly what you're thinking?" Matthew asked.

"…no. I got the feeling he was a few slices short of a loaf of bread." Gilbert stared at Matthew, "You thought that?"

"Maybe it was just me…" Matthew looked away again, "But in the cafeteria when he was sitting with us…I swear it felt like he was looking right through me…"

"That's creepy, not gonna lie." Gilbert shuddered, "Never got that impression from him, never want to."

"Eh…fortunately I've only seen him once over the summer…" Matthew sighed heavily.

"And let me guess, you hid until he went by you." Gilbert smirked.

Matthew stuck his tongue out at Gilbert, "Shut up."

"That was totally a yes~" Gilbert laughed, "So where did you end up hiding at?"

"I needed to go down that aisle in the grocery store anyway." Matthew defended himself.

"Uh-huh…" Gilbert grinned, "You keep telling yourself that." He patted Matthew on the head.

"I did!" Matthew protested.

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More grammar updates. And translations. Readers could probably figure out what Gilbert and his brothers were saying, but better to have it easy to read.


	10. Antonio's a sneak - Lovino

Moving on.

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 **After-School Hours**

Arthur sighed and hit his head against his locker repeatedly. Okay that had gone badly. Day one was a definite strike-out. Somehow he had managed not only to not advance anything at all with Alfred, he also somehow managed to start an argument between himself and Allistor, which just made the whole family-situation worse. He opened his notebook and glared at the list he had written down. "Something tells me this is going to be a lot harder than just writing things down and doing them one step at a time." He frowned and read through the sentences. Maybe he should re-think these…

Arthur scowled and closed the journal shut. He would look over it later. Arthur stalked away from his locker, he didn't even know why he bothered stopping at it, didn't have anything there to put in or take out.

"Hey!" Alfred jogged up beside him, "So Mattie's going for a walk with Cruz, and I don't feel like going straight home~ You want to do something?" He smiled cheerfully at Arthur.

"As long as 'something' doesn't include a stop at the nearest fast food place." Arthur looked at Alfred, still scowling slightly, but his mood was improving.

Alfred pouted, "I'm not even hungry yet. Geez." He led the way out the front doors and happily skipped down the steps, "Where we going?"

"Oh I don't know. Pick something." Arthur sighed and followed along behind him. Alfred was definitely feeling way more energetic than he was.

"Uhm…" Alfred looked up at the clouds while he was thinking. "Dunno, I don't think there's any good movie playing…"

Just how much time was Alfred looking to kill here? Arthur raised an eyebrow at the comment on a movie, "Is there a reason you don't want to go home?"

"Huh? No. I just didn't feel like going straight home, that's all." Alfred shrugged and kept walking.

 _…something is definitely up._ Arthur opened his journal and wrote down about Alfred's odd behavior before closing it again. He noticed Alfred was now also carrying a small book in his left hand and smiled a bit, "I see you stayed in the home education class as well."

"Yeah, it sounds awesome! Who wouldn't stay with a teacher like that?" Alfred grinned, "I haven't come up with anything to write in here yet, though."

"…I almost filled the two pages already." Arthur sighed. Maybe writing his thoughts down was not the best idea. But if he didn't, then he would be sure to forget.

"What all are you writing?" Alfred gaped at Arthur in amazement.

Arthur blushed, "Nothing." He hugged the journal to his chest and walked past Alfred.

"Tell meeee~" Alfred hurried after Arthur.

"No. What are we doing?" Arthur waved him off and kept walking, the blush still evident on his face.

Alfred pouted again. Stealing the journal was sounding like a fun idea right now, but Arthur would never let him forget it. "No movies to go and see, can't go to a fast food place…"

"Deal with it." Arthur glared at Alfred.

"Dunno. We can just go for a walk." Alfred tilted his head.

"…" Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Where are we walking to?"

Alfred stuck his tongue out at Arthur, "I don't care where we end up. Let's just walk and follow our feet!"

"…" Arthur rolled his eyes but decided not to make a comment on Alfred's logic. He motioned for Alfred to lead the way and stalked after the taller blonde.

Alfred walked in silence for a couple minutes, glancing back at Arthur every now and then. He stopped and waited until Arthur was beside him before beginning to walk again, "So how was Arthur's day at school~"

"…Same as it always is." Arthur shrugged. There really wasn't that much else to say. Though apparently he had shot down Alfred's only attempt at beginning a conversation, because it was silent…again. Arthur sighed. This was really uncomfortable.

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Antonio skipped along with Lovino, holding onto his friend's hand while swinging their arms back and forth.

"Would you stop that?" Lovino snapped finally, getting sick of stepping back a couple times when their arms went behind them.

"This is fun!" Antonio laughed, "We get twice as much exercise this way!"

"Why can't you just walk normally?!" Lovino yelled, "Geez!"

"Because if we keep tracing over our steps then I can spend more time with Lovi~" Antonio looked at him cheerfully.

Lovino stared at Antonio in silence, not objecting this time when they stepped back twice before going forwards again. He looked back front again, deciding not to make a comment on Antonio's last statement, which of course, proved to be a mistake.

"Lovi is not objecting~ Lovi wants to spend more time with me, too~" Antonio instantly let go of Lovino's hand, but only long enough for him to wrap Lovino in a giant hug.

"THAT'S NOT WHAT I WAS SAYING!" Lovino yelled, his face turning bright red.

"Of course not. You weren't saying anything~" Antonio laughed and promptly skipped down the sidewalk, carrying Lovino.

"Put me down!" Lovino yelled, cursing at the completely-oblivious-idiot-bastard.

Antonio pouted, "Togetherness with Lovi."

Lovino stared at Antonio again in silence. What the heck was he supposed to say to that? That wasn't even a complete sentence. He could at least say if he wanted the togetherness or not, though…apparently he did, otherwise he would have just put Lovino down, right?

Antonio perked up when Lovino didn't say anything, "Lovi doesn't mind the togetherness~"

"Aiiiii." Lovino hit his head against Antonio's shoulder, "I say something and I make the situation worse, I don't say anything and I can't tell WHAT I did."

"Well if this isn't making the situation worse, then it made it better right?" Antonio laughed, "And that means Lovi likes meeee~" He continued making his way down the sidewalk.

Lovino left his face buried in Antonio's shoulder, but he was pretty sure the other could feel the heat coming off of his face. Did not say that. Did not say that. Did not say that. Did not say anything that remotely even _sounded_ like that!

"I don't hear a denial~" Antonio laughed again.

"I'm struck speechless by your stupidity." Lovino grumbled.

"Ahahahahaha! Lovi's so cute when he's denying everything~" Antonio continued going, not putting Lovino down.

"I didn't even deny anything!" Lovino snapped, "So don't say I'm cu-…shit."

Antonio tripped and promptly spilled himself and Lovino onto the grass next to the sidewalk due to laughing so hard. He clutched at his sides laughing, though Lovino wasn't sure if it was at the complete lack of denial, the comment that Lovino hadn't denied anything, or Lovino realizing what he had said.

"SHUT UP DAMN IT!" Lovino yelled, hitting Antonio over the head repeatedly. He could feel his face burning even moreso than it had been.

"Lovi, I can't believe you even said that without trying it!" Antonio continued laughing, despite the hits he was getting.

"Shut up." Lovino crossed his arms and sulked, "It's not funny. You tricked me, bastard."

Antonio hugged Lovino again, "Aw~ there there, no sulking~"

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Gilbert grinned at Roderich as they were walking in the same direction. The intersection was coming up where they would have to split ways, however, but Gilbert was ignoring that. Right now he was having fun teasing Roderich (again).

Roderich scowled at Gilbert, "Must you keep bringing that up?"

"Ja. Cuz you haven't admitted you missed seeing my awesome self every day~ You were even thinking about me and sent me a text." Gilbert grinned cheerfully, "Roddy is so cute~"

Roderich's face flushed in response to the memory of sending a text to a then-thought-dead-Gilbert. "Well excuse me! School felt strange without having someone constantly interrupting me during student council…" _…Still haven't talked to Arthur. Why haven't I talked to Arthur yet?_ Roderich shook the thought off and glared at Gilbert again. "…And constantly interrupting class!"

Gilbert smirked, "Clearly you are showing that you missed me in your own way." He grinned and poked Roderich in the cheek playfully, "Lighten up~"

Roderich sighed in defeat, "Fine, I will admit I did miss you. _A little._ " Roderich snapped instantly, seeing the happy look cross Gilbert's face, "Though after this summer, I don't even know how I did."

Gilbert laughed, "You like seeing me show up at your place~ You even open the door before I get up to the porch!"

Roderich's face flushed yet again, "It's polite to open the door before the guest arrives, that's the only reason I was doing so!"

"Ja, ja. You keep telling yourself that." Gilbert waved him off and stopped at the corner where they went down opposite streets.

Roderich scowled at Gilbert and glared at him, "It _is_ polite."

"Mhm." Gilbert just grinned in response.

"Damn it! Stop saying that like you don't believe me!" Roderich yelled.

"Nein, I totally believe you." Gilbert burst out laughing at Roderich's outburst, "Chill."

"You are just so…" Roderich seethed and turned his head away, fuming silently. How can anyone be so aggravating?

"Awesome?" Gilbert asked innocently, tilting his head.

"That was NOT the word I was thinking of." Roderich snapped.

Gilbert patted Roderich on the head, "There there, Roddy. It's okay~"

Roderich sighed and pushed Gilbert's hand away, but didn't make a comment out loud. He glanced down the street he lived on, briefly wondering if his mother was even home from work yet. More than likely not. She usually didn't get home until evening.

Gilbert glanced down the street that he lived on and made a face. No doubt his vati was home already. As well as mutti. Why did he get home so damn early from work lately? It was annoying and hard-as-hell trying to avoid him. Gilbert sighed heavily.

Roderich glanced back at him, raising an eyebrow, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Gilbert answered automatically, "Anyway, I better be going. Mr. Unawesome-Stiff is probably already at home."

Roderich smiled a bit, "Really, you are the only person I know who can get away with calling his father that." He certainly never could have.

"…" Gilbert stared at Roderich, "I think it's more of him tolerating it, not exactly my getting away with it. Besides, it helps that mutti started calling him her 'tall stiff' now." Gilbert rolled his eyes, "Lovey-dovey people…"

"…Her…tall…stiff…" Roderich blinked, "O…kay then." He shook his head, "Well. He must have a higher tolerance level than most. Though he does put up with your older brother."

Gilbert smirked, "Don't even get me started on him. He's gotten into so much trouble over the summer it's unreal." He shrugged it off, "Ach, well…" Gilbert glanced at his phone to see what time it was.

Roderich tilted his head. _'Is he in a hurry to get home for something? Probably a tv show…'_ "See you tomorrow then?"

"Ja, totally. I'll tackle you in the morning again~" Gilbert grinned and hugged Roderich before he realized why Gilbert moved forward all of a sudden.

"H-hey!" Roderich shoved him away, blushing bright red, "Don't do that, and don't you dare tackle me!"

"Ja, ja! Bye!" Gilbert waved and hurried off down the sidewalk.

"Honestly." Roderich huffed and turned down his street, stalking off, "How can someone be that aggravating?"

Gilbert glanced at the time on his cell phone again, "So going to be late today. Oh well. No harm in being a half hour late." Gilbert pocketed the phone and continued on his way, humming cheerfully.

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Matthew sat on the park bench, swinging his legs back and forth in front of him. He tilted his head to the left for a moment before straightening back up and then tilting it to the right. Currently he was watching Cruz as the other leaned up against the counter of the ice-cream stand sitting in the middle of the park. The park bench Matthew was sitting on was about twenty feet away, close enough to see that Cruz was laughing with the server about something (not close enough to hear).

Matthew leaned so his back was up against the table and tilted his head upwards slightly, looking up at the clouds. Maybe it was just because of the test this morning that he was feeling out of it?

Cruz glanced over his shoulder at where Matthew was sitting. The blonde was looking upwards towards the sky. Cruz frowned for a moment before turning back to the stand he was leaning on. This had to be the first time he had ever seen Matthew turn down a chance for getting some type of ice cream. Especially on the way home from school. He shook his head slightly and took the cup from the server, heading over to where Matthew was sitting at. Cruz had thought about ordering something for Matthew anyway, but decided it would probably be better not to do so.

Matthew glanced to his left as Cruz sat down on the bench next to him, quietly starting to eat from the small dish he was holding. Matthew smiled slightly and glanced back upwards again. For some reason he just wasn't in the mood for a treat from the stand they stopped at on an almost-daily basis. He certainly wasn't in the mood to go straight home either, so here they sat. In silence. Well Cruz was one who believed in talking _after_ eating, that and the ice cream would melt if they talked too long, so Matthew decided to remain quiet for now.

Cruz glanced around the park they were sitting in. Rather quiet for school having just let out. Normally students would be milling around in groups, talking, which was one of the few reasons Cruz didn't like going through the park after school this early, so that was more of a good thing than a bad. Though it did make him wonder why people were staying away from here today. Maybe they were just going home to complain about the first day of school. Cruz smirked a bit and continued eating his ice cream.

 _'I wonder what their 'special' flavor was…'_ Matthew tilted his head, glancing at the stand. He made a face, debating whether or not to go over and ask. He could just ask Cruz, but he always ordered the same thing, and somehow Matthew doubted he had looked at the sign while he was up there.

Cruz gave Matthew a sideways glance. _'He's being rather quiet.'_ He paused in eating, holding the spoon in his mouth for a moment. Debating whether or not to say something, but usually if he started the conversation it didn't go anywhere. Such is the life of someone who's used to being anti-social.

"…did you see what the special flavor of the month was?" Matthew looked at Cruz, giving up in trying to read the sign from where he was sitting. The only thing that was doing was straining his eyes.

"Hm? No, didn't look at the sign, sorry." Cruz blinked. That was a bit random for someone who said he wasn't in the mood for ice cream. Cruz looked back at the stand, but couldn't tell what it said from where they were sitting at.

Matthew turned his gaze back towards the stand. _'I wonder why he always gets the same flavor…has he tried some of the other ones?'_ Matthew tilted his head and gazed at the stand, frowning slightly. Maybe he should just go over after all.

 _'Why is he making a face at the ice cream stand?'_ Cruz noticed the facial expression Matthew was making, but decided to withhold comment. Probably safer anyhow. Cruz continued munching on his ice cream, wondering if Matthew had decided he wanted some after all. That would be why he asked, there really wasn't any other reason to ask, other than a failed attempt at a conversation starter.

"Eh. I'll be back." Matthew stood up and wandered over to the stand, looking at the sign as he stood at the counter.

Cruz smirked a bit. He had changed his mind after all? That or he really was just curious on the special flavor.

Matthew tilted his head, looking at the sign. There were over twenty flavors here, and Cruz always got the same one. Maybe he just liked consistency. _'Oh…that's right. Special flavor…uhm…eh…berry mint? Is that really all one flavor?'_ Matthew blanked at the name of the ice cream.

"What'll it be today?" The server stood up abruptly, Matthew hadn't even realized he was there.

"Oh…uh…I guess I'll try the flavor of the month." Matthew glanced at the tub of ice cream that was labeled 'Berry Mint'. So it really was all one flavor. Well. Try something new.

"One scoop, two scoops?" The server glanced at him, picking up a bowl from behind him.

"Ah, two scoops." Matthew blinked. How was it every time he was here, he should know the questions by now, yet it never failed that he forgot something when ordering.

"Here you are!"

Matthew walked away with a dish of the pink…reddish ice-cream and sat back down next to Cruz, "…"

"What…is that?" Cruz stared at it with a blank expression on his face.

"Berry mint." Matthew looked at it with the same expression, "Worth a try at any rate."

Cruz raised one eyebrow at it but continued eating his own ice cream, "If you say so."

Matthew took a small spoonful and munched on it, watching a small group of their classmates from school wander by. One or two of them stopped to look at the ice cream stand before shuffling on behind their friends. _'Are we the only ones who stop here after school?'_ Matthew shrugged at the taste. Wasn't bad at least, it was hard to mess up ice cream flavor anyhow.

"And the answer is?" Cruz looked at Matthew questioningly.

"…to what?" Matthew blinked at him, confused.

"The ice cream, spacey." Cruz said flatly, pointing at the dish Matthew was holding.

Matthew's face reddened at being called 'spacey', "It's fine." He took out a spoonful and dropped in on top of Cruz's ice cream before continuing to eat again.

"I did NOT say I wanted to try this." Cruz made a face at the different color in his bowl.

"Try it anyway." Matthew stuck his tongue out at Cruz and continued eating. Probably the only way he was going to get Cruz to try a different flavor of ice cream once in a while anyhow.

Cruz looked at the pink-red ice cream with a suspicious expression before munching on it. If he left it in the dish he would never hear the end of it, no doubt about it. _'Hn. I guess it isn't that bad.'_ Cruz shrugged and continued eating the spoonful that Matthew had dropped in his bowl.

.

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* * *

Just grammar updates again.


	11. Walking in circles

Nothing to say here.

* * *

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Gilbert glanced at the empty parking space in front of the house before heading for the front door. Well at least no one was home yet. He searched his pockets for his housekey and unlocked the door (after remembering he put it in his back pocket). Gilbert sighed as he entered the kitchen, kicking the door shut behind him. Every now and then he would become confused when he entered the house, he (still) wasn't used to the kitchen being the first room.

"Why couldn't we just stay in the house mutti and I lived in? Why here?" Gilbert sighed and wandered through the dining room before glancing into the living room. Completely empty. That meant not even Ardrich or Ludwig were home yet (otherwise Ardrich would be in the living room watching tv). Gilbert shrugged and headed up the stairs. Ludwig was probably wherever Feliciano was, and Ardrich…who knows and who cares. Not Gilbert.

Gilbert stalked into his bedroom, closing the door shut behind him as he headed across the room. "Hahhhh…" He flopped onto the bed, burying his face into the pillow, and holding his journal underneath it. Why did school have to last so unbelievably long? Gilbert rolled over so he was looking up at the ceiling and glanced at the desk next to his bed.

Sitting up, Gilbert yanked open the top drawer and shuffled around the papers laying inside before pulling out a small bottle that was hidden at the bottom, underneath everything else. Popping the top off, Gilbert dumped out one of the pills inside and managed to swallow it (with one slight unawesome gag) without a drink before hiding the pill bottle again. Gilbert shut the drawer and flopped back down on his pillow again.

 _'I suppose I could write in that journal thing…'_ Gilbert stared up at the ceiling, but made no motion to sit back up and actually do something with the journal that was now laying hidden underneath his pillow.

.

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* * *

Antonio was grinning from ear-to-ear, bouncing along happily behind Lovino, who was still quite red-faced (and cursing) from the earlier interactions.

"Cheer up Lovi~" Antonio laughed, feigning innocence at being the one who had annoyed the other.

"Do I look like I need cheering up?" Lovino snapped and continued walking towards home. Stupid Spanish bastard. That was a deliberate trick with words.

"Yes, you look very grumpy." Antonio sped up his pace so he was walking beside Lovino again, "Cheer up, cheer up~"

"I am perfectly fine!" Lovino glared at Antonio, "I do NOT need any type of cheering up, thank you!"

Antonio pouted but continued to walk beside Lovino. Lovi was so adorable when he was making angry faces~ …which he seemed to be seeing a lot of today. Or at least ever since collapsing in the grass with that fit of laughter. "Did I make Lovi mad at me?"

Lovino responded with a glare, "What do you think?"

"But Loviiiiii~ I didn't say anything~" Antonio tugged on Lovino's shirt sleeve.

"You know damn well what you said!" Lovino retorted, but made no attempt to pull his arm away. Antonio's arms were longer anyhow.

"Nuh-uh. You said what you're mad about~" Antonio smiled cheerfully, "I didn't say anything to make Lovi mad at me~"

"Your tricking me with words doesn't count?" Lovino grumbled.

"I didn't do anything of the sort!" Antonio protested, "All I did was call you cute! Which you are."

"You said I was cute when I was denying everything!" Lovino argued.

"And you were." Antonio smiled cheerfully, "Are." He added.

Lovino slapped the palm of his hand to his forehead in exasperation, "You're impossible."

"Ahahaha~ nothing is impossible with love leading the way!" Antonio cheered, swinging his arm upwards towards the clouds.

"That depends on the strength of it, doesn't it?" Lovino sighed and kept walking.

"You don't think our love is strong?" Antonio pouted and walked along beside him.

Lovino stared at Antonio dumbfounded, "I didn't even hear you say anything of the sort!"

"Love does not need to be spoken." Antonio smiled cheerfully once more.

Lovino stopped where he was at and stared at Antonio, "…" _'This idiot…what the hell…'_

"Love can just as easily be…shown~" Antonio grinned and kissed Lovino before he could react to what was happening.

Lovino stared wide-eyed at Antonio (whose eyes were closed thankfully, because that would just make this even more embarrassing). _What just happened?_ Lovino remained perfectly still until Antonio pulled away, though his face did turn several darker shades of red than it had been before.

"Lovi~" Antonio waved a hand in front of the frozen Lovino's face, "Are you in there?"

"What the hell did you do that for?" Lovino spoke through gritted teeth, still trying to process what happened.

"Love can be shown and not spoken~" Antonio smiled cheerfully, "So I was showing Lovi~"

"Is that supposed to sound like a pick-up line?" Lovino half-glared at Antonio.

"Only if it's working." Antonio winked at Lovino and continued on down the sidewalk, pulling Lovino along with him.

"Right. You've been talking to grandpa lately I take it?" Lovino shook his head, but didn't attempt to pull his hand away from Antonio's.

"Actually, no. I haven't spoken to him in a month or so now." Antonio tilted his head, "Lately he hasn't been online when I am."

"That just sounds like something he would say." Lovino sighed.

"What? Love being shown does?" Antonio glanced at Lovino curiously, "I sound like Roma~" He laughed at the thought.

"Yeah and that's not necessarily a good thing by the way." Lovino glared up at Antonio, "Though you two pretty much have the same amount of air in your heads."

"Lovi~ you're mean!" Antonio pouted childishly, but laughed anyway, "It's so much easier to spend less time worrying about things that can't be changed, right? Live for the moment!" Antonio cheered.

"And that moment is…" Lovino raised an eyebrow.

"Spending time with Lovi, of course!" Antonio grinned.

"Of course that would be your answer." Lovino scoffed.

"Well it's better than those 'living in the moment' moments that take place at school." Antonio made a face, "Especially gym."

"Ugh, don't remind me. I wish there had been some elective to take in place of that." Lovino sighed heavily. Nothing they could do about it now.

Antonio nodded, "I am not looking forward to seeing how many laps we have to run this year…"

"What happened to spending less time worrying?" Lovino smirked and jabbed Antonio, "That philosophy didn't last long."

Antonio made a mock-hurt face and ruffled Lovino's hair with his hand, "Now who's tricking someone with words~?"

"Serves you right." Lovino huffed, "Bastard."

"…Would you have told me eventually?" Antonio's facial expression became one of (rare) seriousness and he just looked at Lovino, slightly curious.

"Well. I guess now we won't know, will we?" Lovino retorted, deciding to skip answering altogether. How the hell was he supposed to know if he would have told him eventually anyway?

Antonio's serious face vanished and he started laughing, "Right, no point in even asking that. So what now?" He stopped a little ways off from Lovino's house.

"Isn't that up to the person who said love can be shown and not said?" Lovino grumbled, "And I think at this point going home is really the only other thing _to_ do."

"I meant besides that~" Antonio sighed. He rubbed the back of his head, "…do we attempt the relationship from here?"

"It'd be more awkward not to at this point." Lovino stated flatly, "Seeing as how you did just kiss me."

"Oh, that's true. Well then~ hey you have study hall first, too, right?" Antonio smiled at him cheerfully.

"Yeah." Lovino raised an eyebrow, failing to see the connection between the two subjects.

"Yay~ don't sleep in tomorrow." Antonio laughed.

"I wasn't late this morning, bastard." Lovino scowled, "Why do I have to lose out on an hour of sleep?"

"So I can talk to Lovi in the morning~" Antonio hugged the smaller male.

Lovino's face turned bright red again, "FINE! Geez!"

"Yay~" Antonio let go and walked along beside Lovino until they were at the front gate, "You're coming online later, right?"

"Yeah yeah." Lovino nodded and waved him off, "I'll talk to you in the chatroom."

"Okay~" Antonio leaned over and kissed Lovino on the cheek with a grin before bouncing off, "Talk to you later~" He waved ecstatically.

Lovino bit his tongue to prevent the insult from coming out and forced himself to smile and wave instead, "Bye Antonio."

"Byeeee!" Antonio skipped off down the sidewalk, leaving Lovino to walk through the gate and to his front door.

"Stupid bastard." Lovino muttered under his breath, blushing.

.

.

* * *

Alfred glanced at Arthur. They had been walking in silence for the past fifteen minutes now. Any attempts at a conversation were clearly being killed off, whether or not that was on purpose by Arthur was remaining a mystery so far.

Arthur sighed and finally stopped walking, "Okay, clearly you wanted to talk about _something_. Otherwise we wouldn't be walking this long."

"I didn't want to talk about anything." Alfred blinked at Arthur, "Why would you think that?"

"Because we've been walking around the same block four times now." Arthur said flatly.

"Huh? Have we?" Alfred looked around confused. Sure enough, they were in front of the school building. "Oh, what are the odds of that!" Alfred laughed.

"Honestly, you're not even paying attention to where you're walking are you?" Arthur sighed and shook his head.

"Nope~" Alfred smiled, "My mind is wandering without me."

"That does not surprise me in the least." Arthur made a face and continued walking, "We're going in a different direction this time."

"Yes, sir!" Alfred skipped after him, "Oh, so…uhm…what did you think about that test in World History?"

"Of all the conversations to try, _that_ is what you came up with?" Arthur responded, "I am not thinking about it at all."

"That kinda answered my question actually. And you killed any other conversation I tried to start." Alfred pouted.

"Not intentionally." Arthur sighed, "There just wasn't anything to say."

"Then you come up with something to talk about~" Alfred protested, "I'm running out of ideas here!"

"This hanging out was your idea, not mine." Arthur looked at Alfred, "You must have had _some_ idea on what to do."

"Yeah. But I don't remember what it was." Alfred laughed, rubbing the back of his head with a sheepish expression, "My bad."

"Your mind really does wander without you." Arthur shook his head again, "You should put warning signs up." He kept walking.

"What? Like if someone finds it to please return it?" Alfred continued along after Arthur.

"If someone finds your mind, then it wandered out into traffic and took you with it. I'd rather that not happen." Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Thanks for the mental picture there, Arthur." Alfred shuddered and walked a little closer to his friend.

"You started it." Arthur grumbled, "You're the one who came up with that response."

"You didn't have to make it worse!" Alfred protested, "I know it was a crappy response, it was the best I could come up with on short notice!"

"Yes, yes." Arthur nodded and kept walking.

"Hey Arthur. I thought we were going in a different direction." Alfred looked around them.

Arthur looked to his right and found the school building again, "Now you have me doing it, too!"

"Yay!" Alfred cheered, "Our minds have both wandered!"

"Well at this rate we're not even going to make it home." Arthur scowled and started walking again, "This is ridiculous. How do we keep turning at the exact same spots to end up back here?"

"No clue!" Alfred skipped along behind Arthur once more.

.

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* * *

Roderich made his way through the living room to head to his bedroom. Since it was the first day of school and he didn't have any homework, perhaps that would give him more time to access the computer. Gilbert might be getting online as well. Unless he had something to do. Roderich's brow furrowed as he remembered Gilbert checking his phone. He hadn't heard the usual ringtone, so he must have been checking the time. Maybe there was a television show that he didn't want to miss.

Roderich sat in front of his computer, laying the journal he had gotten from Home Education next to it. He switched on the monitor and waited for it to start up, casting a glance at the journal. He should be writing _something_ in it he supposed. Roderich made a face and frowned. "Well then. What am I supposed to write in this?" He pulled the journal onto his lap. Opening the cover, he looked at the neat handwriting he had entered earlier in the day. Glancing at the first blank page, Roderich frowned. He really wasn't sure _what_ to write. Roderich looked back up at the computer and opened the chat window that Gilbert had (annoyingly) convinced him to use. No one else was online it seems. Just as well.

Roderich looked back at the journal. Well now what? He frowned at the blank page. There was a pen laying on his desk, so he couldn't use that as an excuse to not write. But he really wasn't sure what to write at the moment. Roderich picked up the pen and tapped it against the page, thinking. Come to think of it, he hadn't decided whether or not to switch science to music yet. Science would be the better choice when it came to colleges looking over transcripts, but music would be better for him keeping his sanity. Roderich sighed. Both of them had their good and bad points about taking the class. And ironically, what was good for the one was in the bad for the other. So it really wasn't helping to make a mental list.

Roderich looked back up at the computer screen, wishing someone would sign on so he would be distracted by something else. "Of all the times for Gilbert to _not_ be online…" Roderich put the journal back on his desk and threw the pen on top of it, giving up on the idea of writing.

.

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* * *

Matthew walked beside Cruz, not attempting to make conversation. There really wasn't anything he could come up with to say. His thoughts drifted back to Gilbert being sick at lunch. Hopefully that was just the sandwich, though he had to admit, there was a nagging voice in the back of his head that said it didn't look like anything had been wrong with it. Which meant Gilbert was sick and didn't say anything about it, as usual. Well as long as it wasn't whatever illness he had last year returning… Matthew sighed.

"What's bothering you?"

Matthew blinked and looked at Cruz startled, "Eh?"

Cruz stared at Matthew with a not-amused expression. Apparently Matthew hadn't even been aware that he had been sighing this entire time they were walking towards their homes. "Something is on your mind." Cruz repeated.

"Oh, no, it's nothing." Matthew shook his head and kept walking. And of course there went that voice again.

Cruz let out a frustrated sigh and followed Matthew. One day everything would be fine, and the next it would be exactly like this one. Sometimes he really did not understand Matthew. "You know you've been sighing this entire time, right?"

"Was I?" Matthew asked, but didn't turn his head to look at Cruz.

"Yeah. You do that every time you're bothered by something." Cruz resisted the urge to hit Matthew on the back of the head and kept walking.

"I'm not bothered by anything." Matthew said flatly, still refusing to look towards him. _'There's no point in telling someone else about Gilbert, right? And besides, it's possible something was wrong with the sandwich that I didn't notice.'_ Matthew ignored the voice in the back of his head telling him the exact opposite.

"Sure you're not. That's why you're making faces." Cruz said flatly.

"I am not." Matthew's face reddened in embarrassment.

"You most certainly were." Cruz scowled, "I was not imagining the face you were making a minute ago!"

"I'm amazed you don't run into something if you're not paying attention to where you're walking." Matthew said flatly.

"Where the heck did that come from? I'm paying attention to where I'm walking!" Cruz snapped.

"Not if you're more focused on my sighing or making faces." Matthew commented.

"I can hear the sighs, I don't have to turn my head to see that. And I can tell where I'm walking even if my head is turned anyhow!" Cruz grumbled.

Matthew sighed (again) and kept walking. This disagreement was his fault and he knew it quite well. He didn't need the voice telling him that. But apparently it was going to tell him that anyway. Some days were just better than others. This was one of the others. "I'm fine."

"You have a funny way of showing it." Cruz commented, rather annoyed by this point.

"Obviously, if I'm making faces." Matthew retorted.

Cruz glared at Matthew in response, "Fine. I won't say anything next time you're sighing or making faces even if something is _obviously_ wrong, like there is now." He kept walking, at a slightly faster pace than Matthew now.

Matthew didn't respond, and allowed himself to drop behind Cruz's faster pace, not even attempting to keep up. He kept walking at his own pace until he turned to head home, not bothering to say any word of goodbye to Cruz. This was definitely not a good day. Matthew didn't stop until he reached home, where he sat down on the edge of the porch and just stared out at the street he had just walked by.

Maybe if he just sat here he could try and figure out what just happened on the way home. Obviously he had been showing outwardly that he was worrying about Gilbert, and apparently his responses had come out a little harsher than he had meant. That or Cruz was just easily annoyed today. Matthew sighed and buried his face in his hands. Stupid idiot. He knew already he had problems speaking up when something was bothering him, he had been that way for as long as he remembered, and that emotional facility didn't help at all.

Matthew looked back up at the street again. Maybe he could talk to one of the counselors tomorrow in school. It would be better than doing absolutely nothing. Matthew slowly stood up and headed into his house, finding no one to be home, not that he was surprised. Matthew headed for his bedroom, ignoring the ringing phone. More than likely for Alfred, or his parents. Anyone calling Matthew would call his cell phone, not his house phone. Matthew headed into his bedroom and closed the door shut behind him, heading straight for his computer. Having left it on all day, Matthew brought it out of its sleeping mode and opened the chat room, finding Roderich already online.

.

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* * *

Grammar updates. And combining a later chapter with this one.


	12. Unawesome Conversations - Gilbert

Moving on.

* * *

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.

Gilbert rolled off of his bed and plopped down on the chair in front of his computer, switching it on. He laid his head down on the keyboard while waiting for the computer to finish running its start-up programs. "Mein gott… my stomach hurts…" Gilbert sighed. He sat up straight the instant he heard a door slam shut downstairs. Ludwig didn't slam the door, and neither did mutti. That left Mini-Stiff or Big-Stiff.

"Gilbert!"

Big Stiff. Gilbert rolled his eyes, "What?!" He yelled back, not caring enough to get up and go to his door to see what his vati was calling about. Stupid computer. Why did it take so long?

"Come down here so I don't have to yell up the stairs!"

Gilbert glared at his closed bedroom door, "Nein. You can yell it up the stairs whatever it is!" He returned his attention to the computer in front of him and shook his mouse around so the arrow went in spasms across the screen. Gott. Need a faster computer. He looked towards his door hearing someone coming up the stairs. Probably should have gone down after all. That or locked the door.

Gilbert stared at the door long enough to see Big-Stiff come through the door and turned his head back towards the computer which had (finally and with crappy timing) finished loading. He pulled open the chatroom on instinct and found Matthew and Roderich online. "Roddy~"

"Gilbert, for once, can you come downstairs when I am calling you?" Regis sighed in frustration.

"Why? You'd probably have a heart attack if I actually did come down the first time you call." Gilbert smirked and typed in a "Hello~" to Roderich and Matthew.

 **GilbertofAwesome: Hello~**

 **Roderich: Your nickname is absurd.**

 **QuietMatthew: Eh… it's better than mine.**

 **GilbertofAwesome:** **Why are you QuietMatthew now? Und it's called a screename Roddy. One moment, big stiffy is bothering me.**

"In response to what you said, I would not have a heart attack." Regis snapped, "I would be greatly surprised, but I would not have a heart attack."

"Well then, might as well live up to expectations and stay right where I'm at." Gilbert smirked up at Regis, "What did you want anyway?"

Regis held up a paper that Gilbert recognized instantly, "This."

Gilbert looked at the paper momentarily before turning back to his computer to type back to his friends again, making a face while he did:

 **GilbertofAwesome: So I totally found out what that "third party" was that Mr. Specks was referring to with that unawesome test."**

 **Roderich:** **Oh? What group did it go to?**

 **GilbertofAwesome: On a related note, I may sign off unexpectedly. Vati has it.**

 **Roderich: oh great.**

 **QuietMatthew: …I may sign off unexpectedly as well then. That's not good…at all.**

"They sent that home rather fast." Gilbert commented, paying more attention to the chatroom than to the other person in the room.

"Ja, because the principal decided it would be better if the families knew what their children were thinking about." Regis commented flatly.

"That paper isn't even close to telling you _that._ " Gilbert retorted.

 **GilbertofAwesome: Big stiff is not happy~**

 **Roderich: what did you write?**

 **GilbertofAwesome:** **I have no clue. I don't even remember.**

Gilbert was lying of course, but he didn't want Roderich to start worrying unnecessarily about him.

 **Quiet Matthew: …I remember mine…and my parents are home now. Oh great. T_T**

 **Roderich: …Am I the only one not in trouble?**

Gilbert turned his attention back to the adult in the room and glared at Regis, "Did you have a comment about my answers? Or are you just standing there?"

"The exaggeration on the answers is why I'm standing here." Regis glowered at Gilbert, "There are _some_ times when you don't get along with family?"

"Ja. I get along with mutti. Every time else is some times." Gilbert smirked and turned his head away, "It didn't define how many 'some' was. Totally a valid answer."

"'Can you talk to your family members about any problems?'" Regis quoted the sentence off the paper.

Gilbert typed on his keyboard, blatantly ignoring his vati.

 **GilbertofAwesome: Hmm…I think he's mad.**

 **QuietMatthew: About what?**

 **GilbertofAwesome: Some of my answers. He called them exaggerating. They didn't define how many 'some times' amounted to. Totally a valid loophole.**

 **Roderich: Idiot.**

"What do you mean none of our business?" Regis continued, still sounding annoyed.

"Technically I wrote 'none of their _damn_ business'." Gilbert commented, "And either way, it's not."

"How is not our business?" Regis snapped, his voice rising a little in volume.

"My life." Gilbert answered.

Regis let out a sigh of frustration (again), "Und you feel more comfortable around friends than you do here?"

"Gee I wonder why~" Gilbert laughed.

"Ja. I wonder." Regis repeated, sarcasm more than evident in his voice.

"There's no Big Stiff at school. And I hardly see the other two stiffs~" Gilbert smirked at Regis, "Friends are much more awesome than stiffs."

 **QuietMatthew: He's not saying anything.**

 **Roderich: I think he's arguing.**

 **QuietMatthew: Eh…I'm going to be doing that shortly as well.**

 **Cruz has signed in**

 **Roderich: Oh hello.**

 **Cruz: Hi.**

 **GilbertofAwesome: Excuse me, "Big-Stiff" is taking over computer for a moment.**

 **Roderich: Oh hello…and…o…kay**

 **Cruz: …the hell? Who's big stiff?**

 **Roderich: Gilbert's dad. Though I didn't know he was referring to himself as that.**

"Ach, how rude." Gilbert sulked in response to Regis turning off the monitor.

"Und obviously it's the only way I'm going to get your attention away from the chatroom you're in." Regis responded flatly.

Gilbert stuck his tongue out at Regis in response, "Chatroom with Roddy is more awesome than conversation with a big stiff."

"Why do you call me that?" Regis asked in exasperation.

"Because you are one." Gilbert stared at him blankly, "I thought it was self-explanatory."

"Okay, clearly we are not seeing eye to eye on this." Regis ran a hand through his blonde hair in frustration.

"Of course not. You're taller than me. Und we hardly ever see eye to eye on anything. Much less _that._ " Gilbert motioned to the paper.

"…I can't help it I'm taller than you. Und maybe we would see eye to eye on things if you would actually spend time here at home!"

"Don't wanna." Gilbert crossed his arms and leaned back in the computer chair.

"Do you have any interest at all in getting along more?" Regis asked flatly.

"…at the moment, nein." Gilbert shrugged, "I see no point in even attempting it. We haven't gotten along up until now, why start now?"

"We were getting along fine at the start of summer." Regis pointed out.

"Unnnnd we're back to normal." Gilbert waved his hands around, "Ta-da."

"What the heck happened over summer that I missed?" Regis raised an eyebrow at Gilbert.

"You miss a lot while you're working. You'd be amazed." Gilbert smiled cheerfully, "Can I turn my monitor back on yet?"

"What am I missing while at work?" Regis tilted his head in confusion.

Gilbert could have slapped himself upside the head for that comment. That had been a mistake. "Nothing I'm telling you about." _And that would be a second mistake._

"…" Regis stared at Gilbert.

Gilbert smirked and waved without saying anything.

"You. Are impossible." Regis said flatly.

"Und you're just now finding this out?" Gilbert raised an eyebrow, "I value my privacy~ Und you're invading it at the moment."

"…Ja. And I value knowing what the heck is going on with you." Regis glared at Gilbert.

"This conversation isn't ending any time soon is it?" Gilbert asked.

"Nein." Regis snapped.

"Shit." Gilbert sighed and leaned over the desk. "Stuck in an unawesome conversation with an unawesome stiff."

Regis sat down on Gilbert's bed, giving a sigh of his own.

.

.

* * *

 **Cruz: He's taking a long time.**

 **Roderich: Hm. I wonder what his responses were.**

 **QuietMatthew: Eh…**

 **Cruz: Oh you are there.**

 **QuietMatthew: …yes. Why would I be signed on and not here?**

 **Roderich: …**

 **Cruz: You could have walked away from the computer smart*****

 **Roderich: …**

 **QuietMatthew: Oh look, your phone is talking to your computer!**

 **Cruz: …**

 **Roderich: …**

 **Cruz: …the chatroom does that automatically.**

 **QuietMatthew: Must be the same network.**

 **Roderich: …I can't tell if you two are fighting or just teasing.**

 **Cruz: Neither can I.**

 **QuietMatthew: Eh. I gave up trying to tell the difference.**

 **Roderich: …is everything okay here?**

 **Cruz: Just **** peachy.**

 **QuietMatthew: D-A-M-N?**

 **Roderich: I think that's the only word that would have worked there.**

 **Cruz: *glare***

 **QuietMatthew: Who are you glaring at? Me or Roderich?**

 **Roderich: …I don't think I said anything wrong…**

 **Cruz: *glaring at blonde***

 **QuietMatthew: Oh that's specific.**

 **Roderich: …I'm going to guess a fight.**

Matthew sighed and looked away from his computer. A fight probably would be the best way to describe this. A light fight, but a fight nonetheless. "Disagreement sounds better." Matthew sighed.

"Matthew?"

Matthew looked over at his dad, "Eh?"

"This test was given to us today…"

"…" Matthew turned back to his computer with a sigh.

 **QuietMatthew: It's arrived.**

 **Roderich: Oh. Good luck then. Hopefully you have better luck than Gilbert.**

 **Cruz: Luck with what?**

 **QuietMatthew: I doubt I'm going to be any better off, and nothing Cruz.**

 **Cruz: *glower***

 **Roderich: …I'm not getting involved here.**

Matthew glanced at his dad as the other sat Matthew's bed. "…Do we have to talk about that thing?"

"Well obviously something needs said here." His dad looked at him with raised eyebrows, "Compared to last year, you haven't shown any improvement at all!"

Matthew nodded quietly and let his attention wander around the room.

"I thought you were doing better, you started going out with Cruz last year, you were talking more…"

"Eh…I wasn't doing better, I was acting better." Matthew admitted with a sigh, "Nothing changed."

"Acting…"

"Acting like nothing was wrong." Matthew said flatly.

"Can't you just talk about how you're feeling?" His dad tried, in a tone that could be taken as pleading.

Matthew looked back at his computer.

 **Roderich: …I wonder how they're doing.**

 **Cruz: …**

 **QuietMatthew: …Apparently I need to start talking about how I'm feeling more. So here goes: I feel like crap.**

 **Cruz: …what?**

 **Roderich: Taken out of context that's a little confusing.**

 **QuietMatthew: T_T I can't win here. *headdesk***

 **Cruz: Back up and start at the beginning of the conversation would you?**

 **GilbertofAwesome: So…vati totally got fed up at me and left the room.**

 **Roderich: …what did you do?**

 **GilbertofAwesome: …told him what happened in my life was my business and not his. Go unawesome me.**

 **Roderich: *large sigh* I thought you said you were going to try talking to him.**

 **GilbertofAwesome: Und I did. Und I failed.**

 **Cruz: …yeah well it takes a while to get what you're used to doing out of your system.**

 **QuietMatthew: how long does it take?**

 **Cruz: Taking entirely too long for you.**

 **QuietMatthew: feeling even more crappy now. Thanks.**

 **Cruz: no problem**

 **Roderich: *large sigh***

Matthew hit his head on the desk for the second time. "He can be a little less honest."

"Hey at least with Cruz you know he'll point out when you start going back behind that closed door again."

Matthew looked back at his dad, head still laying on the desk, "Yeah. Bluntly."

"Sometimes that's the only way people can get the point across." His father sighed.

Matthew looked back at the computer, "I'd prefer the point coming across in a manner less rude."

"Well you're talking about someone who talks to a mask."

Matthew lifted his head up an inch only to hit his head back down on the desk again, repeatedly, "Thanks for calling me a mask."

 **Roderich: Maybe you could be a little less blunt?**

 **Cruz: I've always been blunt.**

 **GilbertofAwesome: …Ja. Und maybe Roddy can sprout wings and fly like an eagle.**

 **Cruz: …well obviously he has no faith in me..**

 **Roderich: …you're in a bad mood now aren't you?**

 **GilbertofAwesome: Why, yes. Yes I am. I screwed up AGAIN.**

 **Roderich: so go apologize?**

 **GilbertofAwesome: I have yet to see you sprout wings and fly.**

 **Cruz: I don't think the apology is going to happen.**

 **QuietMatthew: …*reads over conversation* Eh.**

 **Roderich: I should have known asking gilbert to apologize would be like asking a brick wall to fall.**

 **Cruz: The wall sounds more likely.**

 **GilbertofAwesome: Oh now look who has no faith!**

 **Cruz: =_= I am so sorry. *not***

 **QuietMatthew: I'm relatively certain he knew you weren't.**

 **Roderich: How'd it go with your dad? Conversation over?**

 **QuietMatthew: if by conversation you mean lecture, then yes, it's over.**

 **HappyAntonio has signed in**

 **GilbertofAwesome: Awesome!**

 **HappyAntonio: :DDDDD Had so much fun walking home today~**

 **HappyAntonio switched his relationship status to "Taken"**

 **GilbertofAwesome: Obviously.**

 **Roderich: oh. Congratulations.**

 **Cruz: … *not sure what to say here***

 **QuietMatthew: Eh…with Lovino I take it?**

 **HappyAntonio: Thanks roderich, and yes matthew :D My adorable lovi~**

 **GilbertofAwesome: Eesh. Everyone's jumping on board the relationship train.**

 **Roderich: *scoff***

 **GilbertofAwesome: I know, I know. Roddy got de-railed.**

 **Cruz: *sound of muffled laugh***

 **QuietMatthew: …; Ehm…*senses a glare going through the computer***

 **Roderich: My fault, that was aimed at Gilbert, not you**

 **HappyAntonio: :D No worries~ Roderich will find someone so much better!**

 **Roderich: My relationship status is not up for debate here.**

 **HeroAlfred signed in**

 **QuietMatthew: Oh I didn't even hear him come home.**

 **Arthur signed in**

 **Roderich: Oh hello Arthur *ignores Alfred because of the screen name***

 **HeroAlfred: HOW MEEEEEAN**

 **Arthur: Hello. Would have been online sooner, however… *glares at Alfred***

 **HeroAlfred: We circled the block a buncha times :D**

 **QuietMatthew: …**

 **GilbertofAwesome: Even they're on the train.**

 **Cruz: *loud laugh***

 **Roderich: Uh**

 **QuietMatthew: Eh…I don't think so.**

 **HappyAntonio: Oh congrats you two~**

 **Arthur: wait what? What train?**

 **HeroAlfred: What are we being congratulated for?**

 **GilbertofAwesome: Boarding station then?**

 **Cruz: *still laughing***

 **QuietMatthew: Eh. That sounds about right.**

 **Roderich: *nods***

 **HappyAntonio: Push 'em on. XD**

 **Arthur: What are you all talking about?**

 **HeroAlfred: tell meeeeee!**

 **Lovino signed on**

 **HappyAntonio: LOVIIIIII~ *tackles through cyberspace***

 **Lovino: Ugh =_= Grandpa's here... Antonio you changed your status fast.**

 **Lovino's relationship status has been changed to "Taken"**

 **HappyAntonio: :D Yay!**

 **Roderich: Your grandpa?**

 **QuietMatthew: … Maybe I'll go then.**

 **Cruz: Excuse me? *glower***

 **QuietMatthew: ehhhhh…**

 **GilbertofAwesome: Oh great. Unawesome stiff und unawesome failure of a counselor. Perfect.**

 **Arthur: He wasn't that bad, really.**

 **HeroAlfred: …*wants to know what people are talking about~***

 **Arthur: =_= Lovino's grandfather was a counselor at that stupid facility last year. I told you this I thought.**

 **HeroAlfred: Ohhh! Now I remember, okay! :D**

 **Arthur: oh? One moment, parents want to talk to me about something.**

 **GilbertofAwesome: DON'T FALL FOR IT! It's a trap!**

 **QuietMatthew: Arthur don't go!**

 **Cruz: …wow those are two similar reactions.**

 **Roderich: …**

 **HeroAlfred: huh?**

 **Lovino: What is going on?**

 **HappyAntonio: :D …**

 **GilbertofAwesome: He's doomed.**

 **QuietMatthew: …he's not responding…**

 **Cruz: …What is with you two?**

 **GilbertofAwesome: They sent home that stupid emotional aptitude test. :T**

 **QuietMatthew: …**

 **Cruz: Excuse me a moment *wanders away from computer***

 **Roderich: Oh. I wonder if Arthur answered badly on it?**

 **HeroAlfred: D: Arthur's still depressed?**

 **Lovino: … They…sent that home?**

 **HappyAntonio: No problems with that here :D Problem with Lovi?**

 **Lovino: …uh…crap.**

 **HappyAntonio: Nooo~ Lovi~ what's wrong? D:**

 **QuietMatthew: Eh, one moment, my cell phone is ringing**

 **HeroAlfred: Oh gee, I wonder who that is~**

 **Roderich: … I wonder.**

 **Lovino: Why didn't he just send him a message?**

 **HappyAntonio: Talking is so much more personal. :D**

 **Lovino: Hey bastard, that better not be you calling my phone.**

 **HeroAlfred: I wonder if I should call Arthur**

 **Arthur: Don't you dare.**

 **Roderich: Oh there you are.**

 **GilbertofAwesome: Geez I go to get a drink and there's a crapload of messages to read.**

 **Arthur: Yes well, I wasn't talking about it.**

 **HeroAlfred: D: Arthur~ What's wrong?**

 **Arthur: Do you have a headache Alfred?**

 **HeroAlfred: Me? No.**

 **Arthur: You're going to if you don't drop it.**

 **Roderich: …**

 **GilbertofAwesome: ouch. XD**

 **HeroAlfred: D: Don't hit me~**

 **Arthur: Taking over little brother's computer! –Allistor**

 **HeroAlfred: …I think it was a hostile takeover.**

 **GilbertofAwesome: Ja, more than likely.**

 **Roderich: …I think I'm going to go get supper started.**

 **GilbertofAwesome: Aw, bye Roddy!**

 **Roderich: Gilbert. Go apologize.**

 **GilbertofAwesome: NEIN. I refuse.**

 **HeroAlfred: Apologize for what? *confused***

 **GilbertofAwesome: Nothing.**

 **Roderich: *large sigh***

 **Roderich has signed off**

 **GilbertofAwesome: :T I refuse.**

 **HeroAlfred: I'm so confused D:**

 **Cruz: When are you not?**

 **HeroAlfred: jerk.**

 **QuietMatthew: *siiiiiiiigh***

 **.**

 **.**

* * *

… So. This is one of the chapters that I took the story down for. But after looking through several different categories, and everything, I discovered that there are stories out there that are entire chatroom fanfictions. So I have made the decision to put it back up as it is. I'm not having an entire chapter in chatroom format like other stories are, so I don't see a problem with mine.


	13. Breakup

Moving on. Added a conversation between Arthur and his father in this chapter.

* * *

.

.

 **Vargas House**

Lovino glared at his phone before answering it. "You did not read a word I typed did you?"

 _"Of course I did~ But I was already calling at that point!"_

Lovino sighed and sank back in his chair, "What do you want?"

 _"Lovi is okay right? Did something on the test bother you?"_

Lovino's face flushed in response, "N-no." He scowled and looked at the wall.

 _"Loviiiiiiii! I can tell you're lying!~"_

"I'm not lying!" Lovino snapped, "And I don't want to talk about it! It's going to be bad enough talking about it when my parents ask about it!" Or worse yet, if his grandfather asks about it. Come to think of it, why was he here anyway?

 _"Fiiiiine. Promise you'll talk to me about it later though."_

"…what?" Lovino stared at the phone in disbelief.

 _"Promise."_

"…" Lovino gaped. He must be joking.

 _"I'm not hanging up until you do~"_

"…Gaaaaah. Fine, whatever. I promise." Lovino sighed in frustration, giving up completely. If he didn't tell Antonio, someone else in the family would anyway.

 _"Yay! I love you Lovi~"_

Lovino's face turned scarlet, "Idiot. You get happy over the strangest things."

 _"I'm always happy when talking to Lovino."_

"…" Lovino suddenly felt the strangest urge to throw the phone against the wall, "I'm hanging up."

 _"Lovi is embarrassed now~"_

"Shut up!" Lovino yelled into the phone.

Roma peered into the room, "Lovi?"

"Go away." Lovino scowled at the adult (not that he was admitting his grandfather was one).

 _"…On a phone?"_

"Not you!" Lovino snapped into the phone, "I was talking to grandpa."

 _"Oh, hi Roma~"_

Lovino rolled his eyes, but Roma heard the greeting and waved cheerfully, "Hiiiiii~!"

"I'm hanging up now." Lovino sighed and promptly disconnected the call before Antonio could protest.

Roma made a face, "Lovi, that wasn't nice."

"I don't care." Lovino snapped and scooted the chair he was sitting in closer to his desk. "And don't start with a lecture."

"How mean! I wasn't even going to say anything." Roma pouted and sat on the floor next to Lovino's desk, leaning up against the wall.

"Why are you sitting there?" Lovino glared at him, suspicious.

"No reason." Roma smiled up at Lovino.

 **.**

 **.**

* * *

 **Kirkland House**

Arthur pushed himself away from the computer, ignoring the chiming messages that popped up as soon as he said about his parents calling him. "Yes?" He blinked at his father who had peered into the room.

"Your principal gave this to me today…"

Arthur raised an eyebrow at the piece of paper his father was holding up. He couldn't tell what was on it from where he was sitting. "And?"

"The test this morning you took in world history as I was told…"

Arthur stared at him for a moment longer. Only one test they took in world history. That would be the test with the questions regarding his emotional standing. Or however you would even refer to it as. He couldn't quite call it an emotional aptitude test, as it was much shorter than last year's. Perhaps they shortened it since they were (apparently) not sending it out to anyone. That or this one was just practice for family members (just damn terrific).

"Reading over this…" his father looked at the paper.

Arthur turned his head away and went back to the conversation on the computer, glancing over what had been said. Hm. They knew what it was the entire time. Gilbert and Matthew must have been talked to about it by their parents already. Obviously Lovino hadn't been judging by the comments.

 **HeroAlfred: I wonder if I should call Arthur**

Arthur glared at the message and instantly fired one back, scowling, and ignoring his father behind him. There was absolutely no point in listening to him read over the questions and responses, he knew full well what he had written down.

 **Arthur: Don't you dare.**

 **Roderich: Oh there you are.**

 **GilbertofAwesome: Geez I go to get a drink and there's a crapload of messages to read.**

 _At least I'm not the only one who's distracted._ Arthur ignored his father who continued talking behind him. Not the nicest thing to do, but then again, he really didn't want to listen to this a second time.

 **Arthur: Yes well, I wasn't talking about it.**

 **HeroAlfred: D: Arthur~ What's wrong?**

 **Arthur: Do you have a headache Alfred?**

 **HeroAlfred: Me? No.**

 **Arthur: You're going to when I hit you if you don't drop it.**

 **Roderich: …**

 **GilbertofAwesome: ouch. XD**

 **HeroAlfred: D: Don't hit me~**

Arthur blinked when two arms reached past him to type on the keyboard, "Hm?"

 **Arthur: Taking over little brother's computer! –Allistor**

"You are not! You have your own computer!" Arthur snapped at the redhead behind him. He crossed his arms as he found his chair (he was really considering switching this chair out for one without wheels) moving backwards and now facing in the direction his (looking rather unsure about what to do) father was standing.

"Aye, he's paying attention now." Allistor smiled, leaning on the back of the chair.

"I can see that. Completely not on his own will either." Mr. Kirkland sighed.

"If ye were just going to continue waitin' for that, ye'd be waitin' a while." Allistor commented.

Arthur huffed but made no attempt to move the chair away from Allistor, because the only direction it could go in was forward (at least the only direction without getting interrupted by the annoying redhead).

"W-Well then…" Mr. Kirkland sighed.

"Is it absolutely necessary to read over every single damn question? I know full well what I wrote down." Arthur sighed, frustrated at being stuck in the situation (and at the chiming noises behind him).

"Well. I know the times you don't get along with us are pertaining to Peter, at least I hope so." Mr. Kirkland commented.

"Mhm." Arthur let his eyes wander to the ceiling. Mostly. There were some times he didn't get along with a number of people in the house, but he was going to let that drop for the time being. Especially since one of the two main problems was standing right behind him.

"And by the way, the principal told all the parents to talk about the results." Mr. Kirkland sighed, "I'm not doing this just because I feel like it."

"Well that makes this more tolerable." Arthur commented sarcastically.

"I didn't even have to take one of those." Allistor remarked.

Arthur could have easily cursed at him, but decided it would be wiser to keep his mouth shut.

"But…do you really not want to say anything about problems you're having?" Mr. Kirkland looked at the paper again.

"Not until I at least make an attempt to fix the situation myself. Because that's how the problem arises in the first place. I can fix my own mistakes." Arthur commented, still looking at the ceiling.

"You don't have a friend you can use as a confidant…but you feel more comfortable around friends than you do family?" Mr. Kirkland raised both eyebrows.

"Just because I don't talk to anyone about personal subjects, does not mean I don't feel comfortable around them. And it's mostly thanks to a couple certain _siblings_ that I don't feel comfortable at home anyhow." Arthur shot a glare at Allistor.

"Gee, I wonder who that comment was at~" Allistor drummed his fingers on the back of the chair.

"…I wonder." Mr. Kirkland sighed, "Well at least you did note that you needed to improve in areas."

"I am well aware of the areas I need to improve in." Arthur sighed (still frustrated). At least since that was the last question that meant the talking about this thing was over. Hopefully.

"You mean actually being tolerable of other people living in the same house?" Allistor asked.

Arthur glowered up at Allistor, "You should consider yourself lucky I'm tolerating _you_."

"I didn't think you had much of a choice at the moment." Allistor commented, looking more amused than anything else.

"I can move this chair out from underneath you." Arthur said flatly.

"I can't tell if you two are arguing or having a bout of sibling rivalry." Mr. Kirkland sighed, "Either way, can you two at least _attempt_ to get along?"

"I am." Allistor retorted, "But Mr. Intolerable here…" He motioned to Arthur annoyed.

"Who are you calling Mr. Intolerable?" Arthur snapped, "Just because I prefer spending time in my room by myself does not make me intolerable of others!"

"Fine. Mr. Loner here." Allistor corrected himself and rolled his eyes.

"That's even worse." Arthur crossed his arms and glared at the wall. He was NOT a loner. And his thoughts most certainly did not revert to that class back in the emotional facility where some students considered him lonely.

"Well which is it then?" Allistor snapped.

"See now this is what I meant." Mr. Kirkland looked between the two, "Aside from being a year apart in age, you two really are not that much different from one another. Can't you two get along better? And while we're at it, maybe you could extend the tolerance to Peter."

"No one in this house gets along with Peter." Allistor stated flatly.

"…I get along with him, and so does your mother. As long as he's not in one of his moods." Mr. Kirkland shook his head.

"Which is…when?" Allistor raised an eyebrow.

"Can you two argue in the hallway so I can return to the chatroom?" Arthur asked, "Sometime before Alfred gets the brilliant idea to call my cell phone because I'm not responding?"

Allistor scoffed but released his grip on the chair, "Fine fine, go back to your virtual chatroom."

Arthur scooted the chair back to the desk, glaring at Allistor as he left the room. _Annoying older brother…_ Arthur looked at the chat window and scrolled over to see what he had missed. A lot. He hadn't missed the fact that his father remained in the room, though the parent wasn't looking at the paper anymore.

"What?" Arthur asked, giving him a sideways glance.

"…I know I'm hardly in the position to be talking to you about any of this." He looked back down at the paper in his hand, "But they have been living here with us almost two years now, and it just feels like all of you are still complete strangers to one another."

"We have nothing in common!" Arthur waved his arms helplessly, "I have tried! I can't understand Peter's videogames, and half the time I have no idea what Allistor and Reilly are talking about at all! Brothers we may be, but I spent over ten years away from them. How can I possibly make up for that amount of time in less than two years? If anything, Allistor and Reilly should be working on getting along with Peter! They've all been living together!"

His father let out a long sigh, "Well I certainly can't argue with that one."

"How… do I get along with people I haven't seen in so long? I barely remember how we were back then." Arthur turned his face back to the computer.

"You were a child, it's little surprise."

"How do you talk to them then?" Arthur asked quietly.

"With your mother as a translator. …And a mediator."

"You have her at least." Arthur buried his face in his hands.

"…And you have me." His father placed a kiss on top of Arthur's head, "Go back to your chatroom before Alfred starts calling you. He seems to be getting impatient."

.

.

* * *

Matthew shuffled around in his backpack, trying to find his cell phone. He could hear it ringing, he just couldn't find it. "Eh. This is ridiculous." Matthew stood up (why he had been searching in his bag when he didn't even use it today was beyond his reasoning at the moment) and searched around his desk. Still didn't find it. Glancing underneath the desk (by accident) he spotted his cell phone where it must have fallen after he was hitting his head several times. Matthew sighed and picked up the phone, flipping it open just in time to catch the other person before voicemail did, "Hello."

 _"Did you lose your phone or something?"_

Matthew winced. He really should have known Cruz would be calling him. "Eh. I misplaced it. I forgot I had it on my desk."

 _"Uh-huh. Took you a long time to find it for it being on your desk."_

"I searched my backpack first all right? Force of habit." Matthew sighed.

 _"You didn't even use it yet!"_

"I know that." Matthew plopped down on his chair with a sigh.

 _"What the heck happened with the test?"_

"…Nothing." Matthew lied, rolling a pen around his desktop.

 _"If nothing happened then you wouldn't have been getting a lecture."_

Matthew sighed. _Why did he always have to be so blunt about pointing out the obvious lies?_ "Nothing I feel comfortable talking about, how's that?"

 _"Annoying."_

"I can't win here." Matthew hit his head against the desk.

 _"Neither can I apparently. Why is it every time I talk to you, I feel like I'm talking to a closed door?"_

Matthew winced. Okay, so Cruz had noticed he had been acting after all. And hadn't said anything until now, well that just made him feel even worse. "It's the same closed door that's been there."

 _"Yeah. I know. I was hoping at some point it might actually open? I'm relatively certain it used to be when you first came back from that facility."_

"It might have been. I don't really remember." Matthew rolled the pencil around his desk again.

 _"Do you just have a problem talking about yourself? Everytime I try and get you to say_ something _about what you like or dislike, I swear it's like talking to a wall."_

"I've always been like this!" Matthew sighed in frustration, "I just…can't open up that easily."

 _"…How long am I supposed to keep trying?"_

Matthew bit his lip. He really did not know the answer to that one. "Um…"

 _"It's been five months now, and I_ still _know next to nothing about you. Which is pretty stupid considering I've been friends with you for over a year now."_

"Okay, I'll admit that is really bad." Matthew tapped the pencil against his desk.

 _"…"_

Matthew looked at the phone after the silent pause, making sure the connection still held, "What?"

 _"I've known you for over a year, dating five months, and I know next to nothing about you."_

"Eh…yes?" Matthew blinked. _He just said that. Now he's repeating himself?_

 _"How long is this going to keep up?"_

"…No clue." Matthew hit his head against his desk again. _Until I grow a sense of self-worth apparently_.

 _"…If you don't know how long it's going to keep up, then how am I supposed to know how long to keep trying?"_

Matthew looked back up at the computer monitor, "…I don't know what to say to that."

 _"…Let me know when you figure out what you're doing then."_

Matthew looked at the phone as Cruz hung up. He sighed and looked back at the chatroom that everyone was still in.

 **Cruz has changed his relationship status to single**

 **HeroAlfred: The hell?**

 **Arthur: …**

 **GilbertOfAwesome: Uh…**

 **Lovino: Well. Someone else derailed.**

 **HappyAntonio: D: No derailing! Get back on there!**

 **QuietMatthew's relationship status changed to single**

 **HeroAlfred: What the heck?**

 **Arthur: …**

 **GilbertofAwesome: Well. This is an interesting evening so far. And the sun hasn't even set yet.**

 **Lovino: …Boarding station?**

 **HappyAntonio: *shoves Matthew and Cruz back on the train***

 **Cruz: *kicks Antonio under the train***

 **Lovino: O_O Hey!**

 **HappyAntonio: How meeeeeean!**

 **Cruz: I don't want to hear it.**

 **HeroAlfred: …**

 **Arthur: …**

 **QuietMatthew: The train is departing the station with two passengers.**

 **HappyAntonio: Whaaaaat? D:**

 **Lovino: … Hey wait. How come I'm alone on the train with him?**

 **HeroAlfred: What train are you guys even talking about?**

 **GilbertofAwesome: The relationship train of course.**

 **Arthur: You…were putting me with ALFRED on that train?**

 **HeroAlfred: ._. The heck?**

 **GilbertofAwesome: Ja. Totally.**

 **QuietMatthew: Like I said, I think they're on the boarding station.**

 **Cruz: That or getting their luggage checked.**

 **GilbertofAwesome: that would be a plane. Not a train.**

 **Cruz: Six in ten chance the plane's going down?**

 **GilbertofAwesome: *holds funeral for Lovino and Antonio***

 **Lovino: What the hell?!**

 **HappyAntonio: O_O Whoa! Six in ten chance?!**

 **Cruz: Yeah, isn't that the chance of a relationship falling apart or something?**

 **HappyAntonio: Our love shall keep the plane flying!**

 **HeroAlfred: How did we go from on a train to on a plane?**

 **Arthur: When were we on it? Did I just miss something?**

 **HappyAntonio: Oh! You two are on it :D Congrats~**

 **Arthur: Wait, what? NO!**

 **HeroAlfred: D: Awww! Arthur, I wanna ride the plane!**

 **Arthur: Ride it yourself!**

 **QuietMatthew: Eh. That's not a plane ride he can take by himself. He has to have a passenger with him.**

 **Cruz: *nods***

 **HeroAlfred: I wanna ride the plane~ Arthurrrrrr~**

 **Arthur: Ride it yourself! I'm not getting on it!**

 **GilbertofAwesome: It's totally metaphorical…**

 **QuietMatthew: …They're not even going to leave the boarding station at this rate.**

 **Cruz: …**

 **HappyAntonio: We shall keep it up with our love, Lovi!**

 **Lovino: …*refuses to respond to something so embarrassing***

 **Cruz: That was a response.**

 **Lovino: *glare***

 **QuietMatthew: Eh. There's no more asterisks for words.**

 **Cruz: smart*****

 **QuietMatthew: therreeee they are.**

 **HeroAlfred: XD**

 **Arthur: What? It seriously censors the words?**

 **Cruz: *glares at blonde***

 **QuietMatthew: There's more than one blonde in here now.**

 **Cruz: *glares at quiet blonde***

 **Arthur: … did I get bumped out of that?**

 **HeroAlfred: uhh**

 **Arthur: YOU COULD AT LEAST ACT MORE SUPPORTIVE.**

 **GilbertofAwesome: Wow Alfred. What kind of co-passenger are you?**

 **HeroAlfred: Wait what? Why am I always saying the wrong thing?**

 **Cruz: … *glares at blonde who has quiet in his screenname***

 **QuietMatthew: Okay that narrows it down.**

 **GilbertofAwesome: XD You guys are great. You cheer me up in no time~**

 **HeroAlfred: Roderich's gonna get mad if you don't go apologize.**

 **GilbertofAwesome: I am so not apologizing.**

 **LittleStiff has signed on!**

 **LittleStiff: …**

 **GilbertofAwesome: *muffled laughter***

 **HeroAlfred: …Who is that?**

 **Arthur: I can make a guess…**

 **LittleStiff: Gilbert, when did you change my screenname?**

 **GilbertofAwesome: Dunno. A while ago now. You hardly sign on here anyway. *laughing***

 **LittleStiff: *large sigh***

 **Cruz: Ludwig I take it?**

 **LittleStiff: Ja.**

 **QuietMatthew: Eh? You can change other people's screennames?**

 **GilbertofAwesome: Ja, if you know their password.**

 **QuietMatthew: …**

 **HeroAlfred: Arthur!**

 **Lovino: …**

 **HappyAntonio: I shall guess Lovi's password!**

 **Lovino: No you will not.**

 **Arthur: what, Alfred? =_=**

 **QuietMatthew: *waits***

 **Cruz: ?**

 **HamburgerHero: Hey what the heck?**

 **Cruz: *bursts out laughing***

 **QuietMatthew: I guessed the password right XD**

 **GilbertofAwesome: PFT~**

 **Arthur: Hm. Suits you.**

 **HamburgerHero: Mattie~ That's not niiiiiiiiice~**

 **HappyAntonio: Maybe I'll change mine :D**

 **Lovino: To what?**

 **GilbertofAwesome: …**

 **LittleStiff: Bruder, how do I change my screenname name?**

 **GilbertofAwesome: dunno.**

 **LittleStiff: …**

 **HamburgerHero: Hey. How do I change my screen name back? Mattie!**

 **Cruz: This is great.**

 **QuietMatthew: Figure it out on your own.**

 **Arthur: *large sigh***

 **LovisAntonio: :D**

 **Lovino: Change it back.**

 **GilbertofAwesome: XD Nein! Leave it like that~**

 **LittleStiff: How do I change my screen name…**

 **QuietMatthew: That plane must fly really fast.**

 **Cruz: Hopefully it doesn't crash really fast.**

 **Lovino: ._.**

 **LovisAntonio: D: Noooo~ our plane shall never touch the ground!**

 **Lovino: Never?**

 **QuietMatthew: …what does someone do on a plane for the rest of eternity?**

 **GilbertofAwesome: Join the mile-high club :D**

 **Lovino: *hits Gilbert***

 **LovisAntonio: XD**

 **Arthur: *large sigh***

 **LittleStiff: Gilbert!**

 **Cruz: *not sure how to respond; would sooner pretend he never saw that***

 **QuietMatthew: *in full agreement with the person above***

 **HeroAlfred: Ha. Changed it back. …and whoa, Gilbert, seriously? XD**

 **GilbertofAwesome: Ja. Oh. Supper's ready. Later!**

 **LittleStiff: *sigh***

 **GilbertofAwesome has signed off!**

 **LittleStiff has signed off!**

 **QuietMatthew: …mile-high club…**

 **Cruz: *shakes head***

 **Lovino: Ugh.**

 **LovisAntonio: As long as the plane has television we wouldn't be bored :D**

 **Arthur: even still…oh. Supper is ready here, as well. I will get on afterwards.**

 **HeroAlfred: D: Aw. Bye Arthur!**

 **Arthur: If you feel a sharp pain Alfred, that's me hitting you.**

 **Arthur has signed off!**

 **HeroAlfred: D:**

 **QuietMatthew: …;**

 **Cruz: With what? A voodoo doll?**

 **Lovino: Lovi has to go eat now~ -Roma**

 **LovisAntonio: Oh okay!**

 **QuietMatthew: …**

 **Cruz: Who the heck was that?**

 **Lovino has signed off!**

 **QuietMatthew: eh. I guess Roma abducted the computer just to say that**

 **LovisAntonio: *is sad***

 **Cruz: good thing you changed your screen name then.**

 **HeroAlfred: *glower***

 **Cruz: *glares back***

 **QuietMatthew: …out of curiosity, are you two ever going to get along?**

 **Cruz: no**

 **HeroAlfred: no**

 **LovisAntonio: They agreed on something!**

 **QuietMatthew: …And that's the only thing they'll agree on.**

.

.

* * *

Grammar updates and an extended conversation between Aedan and Arthur.


	14. From Father to Son

Updated conversation at the vargas household.

* * *

.

.

 **Vargas Household**

Lovino munched on the salad while completely ignoring any attempts at conversation made by the person sitting to his right (also known as Roma). So far any starting sentence had left Lovino less than amused with the possible directions the conversation could have gone, so might as well just not respond at all. Why was he here again?

"So…I stopped by the school on the way home."

Lovino looked up at his dad, not enough to lift his head from the direction of his bowl, but he at least lifted his gaze up. _There's no way I'm going to even act like I'm listening to this._

"You two took a test in world history today…" Mr. Vargas slid his chair back far enough to grab two papers off of the stand behind him. He then scooted his chair back to the table.

"Is supper really an appropriate time to bring something like that up?" Roma asked, blinking.

 _'Thank you grandpa. I take back what I was thinking about you.'_ Lovino shot him a grateful look, not that he was looking in Lovino's direction anyhow.

"I seem to recall you talked about these things at the supper table a lot." Alexander responded flatly.

Lovino noticed his mother was suppressing a bout of laughter and mentally sighed. Going to be getting this conversation no matter what happened here.

Roma pouted, "That's because whenever you failed a test you locked yourself in your room until supper. I had a valid excuse for that."

Lovino took another mouthful of salad, munching on it without comment to the current conversation. When those two got started on how Roma had raised his dad it could go on for _hours_. Because more often than not, those two did not see eye-to-eye on how to raise children. Which is strange considering his dad was always claiming Roma did the same thing. _Maybe he mellowed with age._ Lovino shot a sideways glance at his grandfather. _…That would imply he was serious at some point. HA._

"I did not!" Alexander quickly became flustered after that comment, "I only locked myself in my room when you were in one of your moods!"

"One of my moods? That sounds like a female when she's having cramps, ehm, no offense." Roma looked apologetically at his daughter-in-law.

Lovino shook his head. There went that metaphorical shovel again. Flinging the metaphorical dirt right over both their heads. Why did grandpa sit next to him anyway? There was space beside Feliciano (who apparently was ignoring the entire conversation as well).

"None taken. I think." Amelia sighed, shaking her head as well.

"And anyway, I did not have 'moods'. I had some moments where I was grumpy, but only because of a call from a certain someone's principal!" Roma made a face at his son.

Alexander was less than amused by having his conduct issues pointed out, "You had moods."

"Oh my word." Lovino dropped his fork and buried his face in his hands, "Would you two stop already? You sound like a couple of grade-schoolers." Antonio would be having a laughing fit at this, for sure.

Roma pouted and started eating again, "He started it."

"I did not!" Alexander snapped, "You're the one who brought up my bringing this test up at the table! You started it!"

Roma's turn to flush red apparently. Lovino let out a sigh of frustration and took it out on his lettuce by stabbing it with his fork. These two were impossible. How they got along long enough for his dad to survive through his childhood was beyond Lovino's imagination.

"Oh, get _along_ you two." Amelia looked back and forth between the two before the argument got any farther, "Now then. Since the test has been well-brought up by this point, whether there are some agreements to that or not, let the disagreements rest for right now. Bring up the argument away from the supper table."

Roma just shook his head in silence and continued eating, making no further comment.

Lovino winced, accustomed to the 'moods' his grandfather had, he could tell quite easily that his grandfather was well beyond annoyed by this point. Not that he was showing it outwardly with his (immature) facial expressions.

"The test in world history, it was supposed to give an indication of your emotional standing at the current time…" Alexander sighed, apparently also aware of Roma's mood.

Lovino lifted his head enough to glare at his dad, silently daring him to bring up the answers he had written down.

"Feli, you were listed as good overall, but there was a note that was added to the bottom of your paper…" Alexander sensed Lovino's mood and quickly reverted his attention to the younger twin, leaving Lovino to finish eating.

Lovino noticed Roma was about to get up and reached under the table to put a hand on his arm, "Mom gets mad if someone leaves the table early." He whispered.

"I don't care." Roma smiled (NOT cheerfully by any standards) and stood up anyway, "I'm done." He wandered away from the table and out of the room before Amelia could stop him.

Amelia made a face and tapped her fork, in a rather annoyed manner, on the table.

Lovino sunk in his seat a bit and continued eating. Definitely some tension in the air now, not that there wasn't before.

"A note?" Feliciano asked, swallowing the mouthful he had.

Alexander, after watching Roma leave the room, turned to look at his wife, "…Should I go after him?"

"What note?" Feliciano blinked in confusion, tilting his head.

"You upset him, you fix it." Amelia pointed down the hallway with her fork.

"How did I upset him?" Alexander exclaimed.

Lovino slammed the fork down on the table and got up. _Forget it._ He stalked past his parents and went back upstairs to his room, rather amazed that there hadn't been anyone calling after him. _Dad, you can be the most oblivious person in the world at times._ He returned to his computer and glanced at the chatroom once more.

 **Lovino: =_=**

 **LovisAntonio: :D you're back! *cheers* that was a fast supper**

 **Lovino: Uh, yeah. And why haven't you gone yet?**

 **LovisAntonio: *is suspicious~* I'm eating at the computer. Mom and dad aren't gonna be home for supper. *pout***

 **Lovino: I have never seen you suspicious.**

 **GilbertofUnawesome: Oh mein gott~**

 **Lovino: …new username?**

 **GilbertofUnawesome: Ja. Because I can't talk to vati to save my life.**

 **Antonio: D: Aw, poor Gilbert!**

 **Lovino: You changed your username now?**

 **LovisAntonio: Aw~ it's okay Lovi, I'll go back to this one!**

 **Lovino: *bashes head on desk***

 **GilbertofUnawesome: You two are so cute~ *laughs***

 **Lovino: Don't you dare call me cute. *glower* And why do you need to talk to your dad?**

 **GilbertofUnawesome: …no reason. Just to talk.**

 **LovisAntonio: I'm suspicious~**

 **Lovino: =_=**

 **Roma signed in!**

 **Roma: :D**

 **Lovino: Oh great. Now you're in here.**

 **Roma: Of course I am. *pout***

Lovino looked over his shoulder as his dad peered in the room, "What?"

"Your test…" Alexander held up the paper uncertainly.

"I know already. I need to improve on my emotions and whatever else crap you're about to say." Lovino waved his hand around dismissively.

"…" Alexander made a face, "You could at least _try_."

"I AM trying!" Lovino snapped, "Does this not look like trying to you?!"

"I _meant_ you could at least try to listen to what I was about to say." Alexander buried his face in his hands. "Don't be so quick to react to everything."

"The history of this conversation made my answer a safe assumption on where this was going." Lovino scowled at him, "And instead of standing here repeating some crap that we both already know, go apologize to grandpa."

 **Roma: I can hear them from here.**

 **LovisAntonio: D: Aw, are they fighting?**

 **Roma: Sounds that way. Maybe I should go intervene.**

 **GilbertofUnawesome: …wouldn't that make it worse?**

 **Roma: Probably, what's up with your username anyway? I don't remember the 'un'**

 **GilbertofUnawesome: don't ask.**

 **LovisAntonio: :D …**

 **Lovino: =_= Dad left.**

 **Roma: That was fast.**

 **Lovino: And he's going over to your room more than likely.**

 **Roma: *insert some curse word here***

 **Roma has signed off**

 **LovisAntonio: Aw, he signed off D:**

 **Lovino: No, I don't think he did.**

 **GilbertofUnawesome: Boy when your dad wants to talk he just shuts off the computer.**

 **Lovino: Because grandpa refuses to listen when he's in a bad mood -_-**

 **GilbertofUnawesome: Oh that's just terrific. Unawesome vati, unawesome me, und a ticked-off-unawesome-failure-of-a-counselor**

 **LovisAntonio: The name is just getting longer.**

 **Lovino: geez. How long is your dad's now?**

 **GilbertofUnawesome: Unawesome-Big-Stiff-who-won't-leave-me-the-heck-alone-no-matter-how-many-times-i-swear-at-him**

 **Lovino: …**

 **LovisAntonio: O_O;**

 **GilbertofUnawesome: I can come up with another one.**

 **Lovino: No I got the gist of it already.**

 **LovisAntonio: You know your family should totally do a bonding time.**

 **GilbertofUnawesome: What?**

 **LovisAntonio: :D Yeah, I do it all the time with mine and we all get along just fine~**

 **Lovino: Uh, no**

 **GilbertofUnawesome: NOT HAPPENING.**

 **Roderich signed in**

 **Roderich: Did you apologize yet?**

 **GilbertofUnawesome: That's the first thing you say?**

 **Roderich: *looks at username* I will take that as a no.**

 **LovisAntonio: XD The username gives everything away**

 **GilbertofUnawesome: Ja it says Roddy is a boring person who can't come up with a better name**

 **Roderich: You have fun insulting me. I can make sure mother does not let you in when you come over.**

 **GilbertofUnawesome: D: Roddy~ don't lock me out!**

 **Lovino: …what are you sleeping over there?**

 **GilbertofUnawesome: I was thinking about it.**

 **BigStiff signed in**

 **BigStiff: Why does my username keep changing on here?**

 **GilbertofAwesome: I wonder**

 **Lovino: oh it changed back**

 **Roderich: of course it did**

 **BigStiff: What did? Gilbert, stop changing my screenname**

 **GilbertofAwesome: *cannot hear annoying big stiff over the sound of awesome music***

 **BigStiff: Excuse me *leaves computer***

 **GilbertofAwesome: he's not coming over here is he? Crap**

 **Roderich: Hm. He's in a bad mood I take it *amused***

 **Matthew signed in**

 **Lovino: Hm?**

 **Matthew: Eh, hello again.**

 **LovisAntonio: You changed your username, tooo~**

 **Matthew: Am attempting to speak up more. *sigh***

 **Lovino: How's that working? -_-**

 **Matthew: Not well.**

 **Roderich: …Gilbert?**

 **LovisAntonio: :D …..**

 **Lovino: I think 'big stiff' interrupted his 'awesome music'**

 **Matthew: eh?**

 **Roderich: hm**

 **LovisAntonio: well shall we hold a funeral for him then?**

 **Lovino: For gilbert or big stiff?**

 **Matthew: It seems weird to be calling someone that…**

 **Roma signed in**

 **Roma: Oh my wooooooooooord**

 **Matthew: eh, maybe I'll just turn in.**

 **Lovino: that was fast matthew, grandpa: what?**

 **Roma: ._. I know who you are. *stare***

 **Matthew has signed off**

 **Roma: XD**

 **Lovino: o_o way to go.**

 **LovisAntonio: Whoa! Full retreat and Matthew is offa here~**

 **Roma: He doesn't like me for some reason**

 **Lovino: Let me think of the possible reasons why…**

 **Roma: Your dad is mean by the way**

 **Lovino: … Is he? *blink***

 **Roma: Yes *pout* He was yelling at me about bringing up his school issues :T**

 **Lovino: He brought up** ** _mine_** **, what the heck is the difference?**

 **LovisAntonio: still waiting to hear how you did on test~**

 **Lovino: I SAID I WOULD TELL YOU LATER! DX**

 **Roma: XD You two are adorable~**

 **Roderich: *feels awkward in this conversation***

 **Roma: no feeling awkward, come over here and join in~**

 **Roderich: …no thank you. I'll just text Gilbert later.**

 **Roderich has signed off.**

 **Lovino: …I felt awkward just reading that.**

 **Roma: Yeah that didn't come out very well.**

 **LovisAntonio: D: Aw, I thought it came out fine~ Cheer up Roma!**

 **Roma: :D**

 **Lovino: *eyeroll***

 **GilbertofAwesome: If anyone smells smoke, it's from my ears. Stupid long-winded lecture.**

 **Roma: D: Who lectured you? Shame on the meany~**

 **BigStiff: Who are you calling a meany?**

 **Roma: Oh, hello there. Didn't even see you were online**

 **GilbertofAwesome: Stupid big stiff of a vati who can't even let me listen to my awesome music~**

 **BigStiff: …that had better not be you singing.**

 **Lovino: …**

 **LovisAntonio: :D …**

 **GilbertofAwesome: Big Stiff is a major stiff, squashes all creativity or means of fun~**

 **BigStiff: excuse me again.**

 **GilbertofAwesome: Joke is on you :P I locked my door~**

 **Roma: …Uhm**

 **Lovino: oh geez. -_- Gilbert do you have a death wish or something?**

 **GilbertofAwesome: Nope~**

 **LovisAntonio: :D … *not sure what to say***

 **Roma: … Uh Gilbert, I think your dad can break a door.**

 **GilbertofAwesome: …I'm sure he could to, but the question is will he?**

 **Lovino: Well if you sign off we know why, and we know to hold a funeral.**

 **Roma: XD I'm sure Regis wouldn't…**

 **GilbertofAwesome has signed off!**

 **Roma: …uh**

 **Lovino: What was the end to that sentence you were typing?**

 **LovisAntonio: *starts funeral service* We are gathered here to recall the…**

 **Lovino: OH my word.**

 **Roma: *dressed in black* :D**

 **Cruz has signed in!**

 **LovisAntonio: To recall the wonderful life of Gilbert.**

 **Cruz: Wait what? What did I just walk into?**

 **Lovino: A funeral**

 **Roma: *nods***

 **Cruz: What?**

 **LovisAntonio: Gilbert loved to have fun and…**

 **Lovino: Are you seriously doing a speech here?**

 **Roma: Keep going~ this is fun!**

 **Cruz: …**

 **LovisAntonio: Most of all, he prided himself on doing things his way. No matter how many times he got hauled to the office, you could always count on him disrupting the peace.**

 **Roma: XD**

 **BigStiff: Why are you holding a funeral for my son?**

 **Roma: it seemed necessary, how long did it take you to break the door?**

 **BigStiff: Like two seconds, why?**

 **LovisAntonio: No matter how many stiffs came into his life…**

 **Lovino: *facepalm***

 **BigStiff: HEY!**

 **Roma: XD**

 **Cruz: What the hell is this…**

 **LovisAntonio: he continued living his life the way he wanted to**

 **BigStiff: mostly**

 **Roma: XD**

 **Lovino: *shaking head in disbelief***

 **LovisAntonio: And it is with great sadness that I must say this…**

 **GilbertofAwesome has signed in!**

 **Roderich has signed in!**

 **LovisAntonio: We will always remember the life that was Gilbert~**

 **GilbertofAwesome: What the hell?**

 **Roderich: O_O What?**

 **BigStiff: Amusing.**

 **Roma: XD And he signed in right at the end~**

 **Lovino: Oh my word.**

 **Cruz: This really is unbelievable.**

 **GilbertofAwesome: What the hell was that?**

 **Roderich: That sounded like the end to a funeral service!**

 **LovisAntonio: It was**

 **Roderich: ._.**

 **GilbertofAwesome: I'm totally alive. I don't have a door anymore, but I'm alive.**

 **BigStiff: you have a door.**

 **Roma: …in how many pieces?**

 **GilbertofAwesome: like four or five doors in fact.**

 **Roderich: …**

 **Cruz: …**

 **Lovino: …**

 **Roma: Hm. It's not in two, I'm impressed.**

 **BigStiff: I'm out of practice.**

 **Lovino: …**

 **Cruz: …**

 **LovisAntonio: I am NEVER getting on that guy's bad side**

 **Roderich: Uh…I think maybe I'll just sign off and stay off this time.**

 **GilbertofAwesome: Roddy~ don't leave me with the annoying stiff~**

 **BigStiff: …**

 **Lovino: Ten bucks says he's going back to your room again.**

 **Roma: XD**

 **LovisAntonio: XD**

 **Roderich: …;**

 **GilbertofAwesome: Just because I called him a stiff? -_-**

 **Lovino:** ** _annoying_** **stiff.**

 **GilbertofAwesome: BigStiff- if anyone took that bet, you won**

 **GilbertofAwesome has signed off**

 **Lovino: …too bad no one did.**

 **Roma: Oh geez. He is really not in a good mood.**

 **LovisAntonio: And so with great regret…**

 **Cruz: Oh here we go**

 **Roderich: Antonio, please. Stop that.**

 **Lovino: Yeah, he would like to get on the train with something other than a casket.**

 **Roderich: what?**

 **Cruz: I thought it was a plane?**

 **LovisAntonio: O_O Roderiiiiiiiiiich! You didn't tell me you and Gilbert were going out~**

 **Roderich: THAT WOULD BE BECAUSE WE'RE NOT!**

 **Roma: Whoa, all caps~ XD**

 **Lovino: They're still in the boarding station**

 **Cruz: *laugh***

 **LovisAntonio: Okay, let's see…we gotta push Arthur and Alfred on board…**

 **Roderich: Oh my word…**

 **Lovino: Have to push Cruz and Matthew back on**

 **Cruz: What? *glare***

 **LovisAntonio: And we gotta push Roderich and Gilbert on :D**

 **Roma: You're going to have to stop Gilbert from shortening his lifespan first.**

 **LovisAntonio: Oh that's true. D:**

 **Lovino: -_- You go ahead and keep denying your feelings, Cruz.**

 **Cruz: …**

 **Roma: O_O Lovino~ be careful~ you're waving a red cape!**

 **LovisAntonio: I'm not holding a funeral for lovi.**

 **Roderich: Before this gets violent… *leaves***

 **Roderich has signed off**

 **Cruz: *scowl***

 **Lovino: :P**

 **Roma: D:**

 **Roma has signed off**

 **Lovino: Huh?**

 **LovisAntonio: Did he lose connection?**

 **Cruz: …**

 **Lovino: …*holds hand up to ear* No. wait.**

 **LovisAntonio: …is he coming to your room? :D**

 **Lovino: No. I think he's in another argument.**

 **Cruz: …**

 **LovisAntonio: D:**

 **.**

 **.**

* * *

More grammar updates again. Some slight changes in the conversation at the dinner table, but that was it.


	15. Unlikely Friend

And moving on once more.

* * *

.

.

 **First Bell: World History**

Gilbert stared up at the blackboard, facial expression clearly one of complete and total boredom. If it wasn't for the fact he could text on his phone underneath his desk without Mr. Unawesome-Specks noticing, he might have actually fallen asleep by now. He glanced sideways over at Arthur, who he could only assume was taking notes. Though he was almost positive that Arthur hadn't even looked up at the board once yet. What the hell is he writing then? Gilbert turned his attention back to the board and let out a soft sigh. All he wanted to do was sleep, was that really too much to ask?

Arthur tapped his pen against the notebook in front of him, looking at what he had written down so far. He hadn't noticed anything much unusual this morning, other than Gilbert looking like he was about ready to fall asleep, and considering this was Gilbert, and also the first class of the day, there wasn't much unusual about that anyway. So he was back to deciding how to go about completing the goals he had set. _'Relations with family had a minor set-back…but that was mostly due to that stupid test yesterday… relation with Alfred is fine…I suppose. We didn't argue yesterday at least. Unless I count that conversation while we were walking around in circles.'_ Arthur glanced up at the board. This was definitely one of the first times he hadn't even bothered to take notes, but then again, this class really wasn't all that…interesting. It was actually rather tedious, and so far they were just covering what Arthur still remembered from _last_ year. He was pretty certain he still had his notes as well, so there was no point in even copying this down.

Gilbert glanced down at his phone as it went off with a response. It was mostly just them updating their status messages back and forth to one another, but hey, it's something else to do. **_Alfred: *is currently suffering a boring math lecture*_** Gilbert grinned and typed in a similar response. **_Gilbert: *is currently trying not to fall asleep due to a boring history lecture*_**

Arthur looked at the two status message updates and rolled his eyes. Of course, coming from those two, those statuses were to be expected. **_Arthur: *is currently wondering why the two idiots aren't at least attempting to pay attention*_** He smiled cheerfully at Gilbert who was glaring at him in response.

Gilbert stuck his tongue out at Arthur and updated once more. **_Gilbert: How can anyone possibly pay attention to this crap? It's BORING._**

Arthur shook his head with a sigh and reverted his attention to his notebook. There must be some way of going about doing this. Well. He could just say it in his status message. Arthur blinked. Why didn't he just think of that sooner? **_Arthur: Any ideas on how to go about telling someone you like them?_**

Gilbert stared wide-eyed at the message. Whoa. Arthur was going out on a limb there. **_Gilbert: I can't even talk to Mr. Unawesome Stiff let alone have any relationship advice._**

Arthur sighed. Of course that would be Gilbert's response. Well, should have known that wouldn't help. **_Alfred: Arthur~ I didn't know you liked someone~_** Arthur's face reddened slightly and he sunk in his seat a bit. Clueless idiot. If Alfred was a little better at sensing the atmosphere, then he wouldn't even be in this stupid situation. **_Gilbert: Wait. I thought you were just telling us to pay attention? You're obviously not._** Arthur turned his head and glared at Gilbert, who smirked in response. **_Arthur: I still have my notes from last year on this. I seriously doubt you even took notes last year._**

 ** _Gilbert: Who keeps year-old class notes?! I don't even remember this crap._** Gilbert sighed heavily. Well maybe since he and Arthur were in the same class he could steal the notes off of Arthur. If the glaring-male was willing to share.

 ** _Arthur: I do. It helps refresh my memory in case anything from previous years is covered on a test, you git._**

 ** _Alfred: You two are really not getting along. I guess Mattie and Roderich are taking notes. Cuz they're not updating at all._**

Arthur shook his head. Alfred, who never took notes, was in a class with Matthew and Roderich, both of whom took notes on a regular basis. It was no wonder they weren't talking on their phones at all. If anything, he was surprised Roderich hadn't come on to tell them all to pay attention to the teacher.

 ** _Matthew: Alfred, pay attention. I'm not helping you with this._**

There it is. Not from the person he was expecting, but there was the "pay attention" comment. Arthur smiled and laid his phone down on his lap. If it wasn't for the messaging system they were using, he probably would have fallen asleep by this point. This really was irritating to no end. Why did they have to go over something they already knew…or should know?

.

.

* * *

 **Study Hall**

Lovino gazed (rather irritated) at Antonio, who was smiling (way too) cheerfully. "I could be sleeping right now." He grumbled.

"But then I couldn't be with Lovi. Unless I just came over to your house in the morning." Antonio tilted his head, looking thoughtful for a moment.

"Never mind. I would rather be here than have you show up at the house." Lovino sighed and laid his head down on the desk. "Why does it always feel like never enough sleep…"

"Because we're stuck in school first thing in the morning~ That and it's still dark out when we get up, so we tend to think of that as sleeping time." Antonio smiled.

"Or after-school time." Lovino added. "Time that could be spent on the computer doing something other than crappy homework."

"Oh yeah, we're probably going to get that today aren't we? Oh well. Hey if we all go on the chatroom we can get answers from one another~" Antonio laughed.

"That'd work out well for those who don't feel like contributing at all, right?" Lovino gave Antonio a sideways glance.

"I'd contribute~" Antonio sulked. "Meany."

"What makes you think I was referring to you?" Lovino smirked.

Antonio pouted and ruffled Lovino's hair in response, "Where's your brother at anyway?" He glanced around the nearly-empty classroom.

"Probably still at home sleeping." Lovino commented. "I didn't wake him up before I left."

"He's not gonna wonder where you are when he gets up?" Antonio blinked.

"How should I know?" Lovino stared at him, "He didn't yesterday. I walked to school, he got up late and got a ride."

"He's the type who sleeps in really late…" Antonio laughed.

"Yeah. Way later than he's supposed to." Lovino rolled his eyes, "Especially when we're all going somewhere for the day. Feliciano's usually the last one downstairs."

"Maybe someone should start setting his alarm clock for really early, that way he's up by the time you're supposed to be leaving." Antonio stretched his arms out across the table.

"He does have an alarm clock, and he usually does set it. He just sleeps right through it." Lovino commented.

"Turn up the volume on it." Antonio laughed.

"Ugh. I don't want to get in trouble for that one." Lovino rolled his eyes, "He'd be pitching a fit."

Antonio closed his eyes for a moment before Lovino hit him over the head, "Ow!"

"Hey! I came to school for this study hall because you told me to! Don't go to sleep, damn it!" Lovino snapped.

"I wasn't going to sleep~ I was just resting my eyes!" Antonio protested.

"That's a bunch of crap." Lovino retorted, "You were going to go to sleep."

"Besides, at least here we can still be at the same spot and sleeping~" Antonio rubbed the back of his head where Lovino had hit him.

Lovino rolled his eyes with a frustrated sigh. Antonio really was hopeless in the morning, "You're not that awake either, are you?"

"Nope~" Antonio laughed. "So tired…"

.

.

* * *

 **Gym**

Cruz stood outside, half-shivering from the cold morning air, in the required uniform for gym class (though since it was Fall, he was wearing long pants instead of shorts). He glared over at where Ardrich was standing (the idiot was in shorts), hearing the complaints about how cold it was outside.

"Alright people! Three laps around the track, move it!" The gym teacher yelled, pointing at the oval-shaped running track.

Cruz glared at the teacher before making his way over with the rest of the complaining students. This was ridiculous. Who made people run three damn laps first thing in the morning, especially when it was not even forty degrees outside?

"Why does the teacher have to make us do this?" Ludwig grumbled, stalking by Cruz, "Now I'm going to have to listen to _him_ all day." He glared at Ardrich, who was still complaining.

"You're going to have to listen to him all day, one way or another." Cruz smirked and started jogging as soon as he hit the pavement. There was no way in hell he was running the entire three laps. The teacher should consider himself lucky if Cruz _jogged_ all three laps.

Ludwig maintained the same pace Cruz was going and jogged along beside him, "Was he irritating you yesterday?"

"A bit. I just ignored it mostly." Cruz commented. How long was this track anyway?

"It's cold out here!" Ardrich snapped loudly, coming up beside Ludwig.

"Then you shouldn't have worn shorts, moron." Cruz retorted.

Ludwig smiled and kept going without making any response.

"This was the uniform!" Ardrich glared at Cruz, "It said so on the paper!"

"Yeah, it also said you could wear long pants in Fall and Winter." Cruz smirked and kept going.

"I didn't even see that on there!" Ardrich complained.

"Then you didn't read it very well." Ludwig commented, "It was in bold print."

Ardrich let out what Cruz could assume was an angry huff and quickened his pace so he wouldn't be beside them anymore.

"He's going to burn out fast." Cruz muttered.

"Ja. Und I will laugh when we pass him." Ludwig agreed and continued at the same pace.

"I think I have yet to see you laugh. This will be amusing." Cruz commented.

"Was that supposed to sound like a criticism?" Ludwig looked at him blankly.

"Take it how you want to." Cruz shrugged.

"If you all can talk you're not moving fast enough!"

Cruz looked over at where the teacher was standing and glared, "Then YOU come out here and jog three laps, dumb-ass!"

Ludwig gaped at Cruz in disbelief, "You didn't."

"I'm sure you'll get used to my attitude eventually." Cruz smirked.

"WHO just said that?!" The teacher yelled.

Cruz laughed and kept jogging. Anyone that knew him would automatically know it was Cruz who insulted the teacher, but they were wise enough to keep their mouths shut.

"I'm sure I won't." Ludwig muttered.

"What? All I do is swear at the teachers now and then." Cruz looked at him, "Is it really that much of a temper?"

"Most people don't swear at the teachers, so I would have to say…yes." Ludwig sighed.

"Hm." Cruz blinked and stared straight ahead, "So what, I should tone down on the insults?"

"Unless you're aiming to increase your school record." Ludwig commented.

"Wasn't planning on it." Cruz smirked, "Guess I won't insult him anymore then. At least not during this class."

"If I don't see some hustle, there are going to be some people running FOUR laps!"

Ludwig looked at Cruz, waiting.

"RUN IT YOURSELF!" Cruz yelled back.

"Well. You didn't insult him." Ludwig shrugged, "You're keeping your word at least."

"The class just started. Don't hold me to that." Cruz grumbled.

They jogged by Ardrich who was already walking.

"You might want to hurry up." Ludwig commented as they passed him, "Otherwise the teacher is going to yell at you."

"I don't give a damn!" Ardrich snapped.

"You didn't laugh." Cruz pointed out.

"Ja, well, I don't laugh very often." Ludwig commented.

"BEILSCHMIDT, ARDRICH! MAKE IT MOVE!"

Ludwig burst out laughing, but managed to keep jogging at the same pace.

"There it is." Cruz smirked and kept going.

"Oh shut up!" Ardrich retorted, "I'm going as fast as I can!"

"Congratulations then! You get to go four laps!"

Ludwig laughed harder and quickened his pace so the teacher wouldn't notice, "Serves him right!"

"Geez." Cruz quickened his pace as well, "No way in hell I'm running four laps, three is enough!"

They both went past the starting line well before any of the rest of the class did.

"Ludwig, Cruz, good hustle!"

Cruz made a face but didn't make any retort, "This is going to be harder than I thought."

"Jogging three laps?" Ludwig asked.

"Holding my temper." Cruz grumbled, "Jogging three laps is no problem. I would just rather not do it."

"Well, we are holding the lead at the moment. We could slow down a bit." Ludwig pointed out, glancing behind them.

"Sooner this is over with, sooner I can stop." Cruz sighed.

"True." Ludwig agreed.

They both quickened their pace again.

.

.

* * *

Grammar updates.


	16. Ardrich's Record Begins

And a timeskip to second bell.

* * *

.

.

 **Home Education**

Arthur frowned at the empty classroom. Apparently the other students had decided not to come back after all. Which meant…they were by themselves with this…strange teacher.

Miss Summers plopped down on a stool across from where Arthur and Gilbert were sitting. "Well now! Today we will be covering…needlework~ Now of course we should learn the basics before starting any projects…unless both of you know how already." She looked back and forth between Arthur and Gilbert.

"I can do basic things…" Arthur blinked.

"Ja, I can do nothing at all." Gilbert smirked.

"Okay, then I will go over the basics with Gilbert, while Arthur, you…" She pulled out some cloth and a wooden frame for it to sit in, "Can start."

"Start on what?" Arthur took both and stared at her with a blank expression.

"This will be a wall hanging of sorts for you to display at your home, and of course for when parents come in to see what their students are working on…"

"They're going to _what_?" Gilbert glared at Miss Summers, "I am not showing them anything I did."

"Of course not. I am." Miss Summers laughed, "So your first project will be…capture in a quote, what family time means to you." She smiled cheerfully.

Gilbert burst out laughing promptly, "You must be joking!"

Arthur looked down at the frame, "…" This was going to be difficult. Arthur let out a soft forlorn sigh. He should have just lied and said he didn't know anything about needlework.

"Of course I'm not expecting you to come up with what you want it to say in two seconds, so you can take your time with that. Write in your journal possible ideas if you need to." Miss Summers smiled and turned her attention to Gilbert, "And you, we start at the beginning."

"Well it'd be rather difficult to start at the end." Gilbert commented.

"Yes, yes it would." Miss Summers pulled out another frame and piece of cloth and handed them to Gilbert.

Arthur in the meantime, stared at his cloth and circular wooden frame. What the bloody hell was he supposed to write in this? What family time means? And it's supposed to fit in this small of a frame? Arthur tapped his pencil on a blank sheet of paper. Ideas ideas…he'd probably get more ideas sitting at home while working on this. Well. He could at least write something down. _'Possible solution idea to problem with Alfred: update status and have a message that can't possibly be taken with an entirely different meaning than what it's supposed to.'_ However…downsides to that would be…everyone else would see that same update. _'Oh. Maybe if I tell Alfred I'm going to post something in my status directed at him, then I can just say it without his name and no one will know who I'm talking about!'_ Arthur nodded and wrote down the idea. That could work. He tapped his pencil against his chin, thinking over any other possible ideas. None were coming to mind.

"You realize I have nothing good to say about spending time with my family?" Gilbert remarked towards the teacher.

Arthur glanced over at the two, curious. He had only heard what Gilbert asked, and missed whatever Miss Summers had said that prompted the remark.

"Well this is a good time to get your feelings known." Miss Summers looked unfazed however. Arthur raised an eyebrow.

"I'm pretty certain they already know." Gilbert smirked, "And whatever happened to: If you don't have something nice to say, then don't say it at all?"

"…Have you ever followed that?" Arthur asked blankly.

"No. But this is something that'll be hung up. Not just said." Gilbert glared at Arthur.

"Oh, you're actually going to hang it? I'm impressed." Arthur raised both eyebrows, startled.

Gilbert slapped the palm of his hand to his forehead in exasperation. Why had he even _said_ that? Now he felt obligated to hang the stupid thing!

"Well, look at it this way, you can do one about how you feel now…and then maybe later on in the year, you can do another one, and see if there's a difference." Miss Summers suggested.

"You expect me to be able to do two of these things and see a difference? Lady, you are setting your expectations a little high." Gilbert glared down at the frame, "Because there is no way that is happening."

"You never know until you try~" Miss Summers smiled cheerfully. She skipped up to her desk as the phone started ringing.

"Ten bucks says I'm not going to see a difference." Gilbert glared at Arthur.

"Are we even going to remember the bet?" Arthur chuckled.

"I will write it in my notebook of awesome." Gilbert instantly scrawled it on the first page the bet he was making with Arthur.

"Fine then. Ten dollars." Arthur shrugged. If Gilbert was going to be this stubborn until they had to do this thing again, then that would be a ten dollars he could have. Arthur tapped his pencil against his journal again. He still hadn't come up with another idea, both for the needlework project and his dilemma involving Alfred.

Gilbert fit the cloth into the frame and glared at the needle and thread he was supposed to be using, "One quote?"

"One quote." Arthur nodded, "I haven't come up with anything yet, however. It might be best to brainstorm this at home."

"Oh right. When the atmosphere is suffocating." Gilbert rolled his eyes.

"Was that meant as sarcasm?" Arthur glared at Gilbert.

"Nein. I was talking about the atmosphere at home." Gilbert grinned.

.

.

* * *

 **Science**

Antonio leaned back in his chair. There was no real point in paying attention when his class schedule would be changing to Music class by tomorrow anyhow, so he could zone out without feeling guilty about it. Antonio glanced to his right and noticed Ardrich seemed to be doing anything but paying attention. _'I wonder if he's changing classes as well?'_ Antonio watched the blonde for a moment before turning his gaze back to the board. She was going on about something, but Antonio had stopped listening a while ago.

Beside him, Ardrich let out an annoyed huff, making Antonio glance over at him again. It was like…Gilbert's impatience and Ludwig's appearance combined into a little miniature-sized version. How cute~ Antonio smiled and glanced forward once more.

"Does this crap you're teaching have a point to it?"

Okay. Cute just got in serious trouble. Antonio turned his head slowly to gape at Ardrich in disbelief. Did he really just say that out loud?

"Excuse me?" Mrs. Specks glared at him over the top of her glasses.

"You heard me. Does this crap have a point to it?" Ardrich huffed.

Never mind about Gilbert's impatience, more like Gilbert's attitude…maxed out a bit. Antonio glanced at the floor, wondering if he could scoot his desk away from Ardrich a bit. It would probably make a lot of noise. _'I don't think even Gilbert said something like that to the teacher's face…Cruz might have at one point or another.'_ Then again… Cruz was normally insulting the _teacher_ not the lesson.

"Why are you even in this class if you don't want to learn it?" Mrs. Specks asked, her facial expression becoming one of annoyance.

"Because I have to be, duh." Ardrich rolled his eyes.

Antonio made a face. Technically Ardrich could transfer into music, but if this was the guy's attitude, he wasn't about to tell him that. He can stay in this class. Antonio drummed his fingers on the desk, letting his thoughts wander to some other moment…specifically a moment that had Lovi in it, and not this guy.

"Oh, really? Then the same sentiment can be applied to the detention you will be sitting in after school." Mrs. Specks smiled (not a kind one by any standards).

"I don't have a detention, lady." Ardrich glared at her.

"You do now." Mrs. Specks waved the small piece of paper and dropped it on his desk after crossing the room. "I expect to see you in this classroom five minutes after the last bell rings, if not, I will _gladly_ call your parents." She walked back to the front of the room.

 _'Clearly not a lady to mess with.'_ Antonio made a face and typed in a message on his phone. **_Antonio: Don't mess with science Specks. She does not take any backtalk!_** Antonio pocketed the phone after updating his status and glanced at Ardrich. The blonde was glaring at the paper…and…ripping it in half. Oh man. This day was going to get reeeeeally bad. Antonio scooted his desk away a bit, seeing Ardrich scatter the pieces of paper onto the floor. Hopefully the teacher wouldn't come to the back of the classroom again. Otherwise this part was going to get really loud.

"Now then, if I could have everyone please turn to page forty in your textbooks…" Mrs. Specks started walking along the side of the classroom that had the windows.

Antonio, without a textbook since he was changing classes, continued to drum his fingers on the desk in a quiet manner so he wouldn't disturb anyone around him. She's coming over here… Antonio found an interesting spot on the ceiling to watch as she crossed behind his desk.

"Are you having fun making a mess on the floor?" Mrs. Specks asked, motioning to the scraps of paper beside Ardrich's desk.

"Better than that making a mess on my desk." Ardrich responded.

"Oh, really? You can get down, and pick every single piece up." Mrs. Specks motioned the floor, "Now." She glared at him and continued walking.

Antonio moved his legs to the left side of his chair, away from Ardrich, and watched as the blonde (grumbling under his breath) leaned over his chair to pick up the pieces of paper. This was going to be an interesting class. Good thing he was leaving it. Interesting did not make for a good learning experience.

.

.

* * *

 **Gym**

Alfred shifted his weight slowly from one foot to the other, glancing around at his classmates who were finishing their warm-up stretches. "I wonder what we're going to be…" Alfred started, talking to himself of course since there wasn't anyone else in the class he talked to on a regular basis.

"Alright, people, three laps around the track, MOVE IT!"

"Oh." Alfred sighed and jogged towards the track, one of the first to move towards it, as he noticed most of the students were now gaping at the teacher in disbelief. _'They're gonna get yelled at if they just stand there~'_ He hit the pavement and instantly took off running at a sprint. Might as well get this done and over with as fast as possible.

"Move it onto the track! Standing there is NOT going to change my mind! Let's see some hustle people!"

Alfred chuckled as the teacher continued on his usual tirade. First day of gym, the freshmen would get used to it. Sophomores should know better by now, and juniors…well they were just stupid for standing there. Alfred glanced back at the start of the track (he was already halfway around for the first lap) and saw Feliciano just starting out a very slow jog. "He's not even gonna make it at that pace! Geez!"

Feliciano sighed and jogged slowly towards the first curve of the running track, "Ve…why do we have to run three laps around this thing…this would be so much better if someone else was in here…" He sighed, primarily referring to Ludwig, but Ardrich would do as well in this situation. "Antonio would be nice company, too." Feliciano tilted his head. He blinked when he heard fast-paced footsteps coming up behind him, "Huh?"

"Good hustle, Jones!"

Alfred grabbed Feliciano's shirt sleeve and yanked him along as he kept running, "Are you freaking crazy?! Move it! If the teacher catches you lagging behind he's going to make you run more laps!" Alfred snapped at Feliciano, still pulling him along.

"Whaaaat?" Feliciano cried and sped up his footsteps so he wasn't being completely dragged, though he was still only moving at Alfred's pace _because_ of Alfred, "I don't wanna run this early in the morning!"

"Dude, focus your energy to the running, not to the talking." Alfred sighed and kept going at the same pace. He really should just let go of Feliciano's sleeve, but he was already a lap ahead of most people anyhow, so it didn't much matter.

Feliciano bit his lip and sped up his pace a little more, "I don't think I can run the entire time though…"

"At least run the first two laps!" Alfred sighed in exasperation, "You can use the last lap as a cool-down, but don't ever use the first lap as a warm-up! You'll end up getting a crapload of more laps to run!"

"Veeee…okay…" Feliciano resigned himself to his fate of running at a faster pace and kept going, allowing himself to fall back behind Alfred a bit.

Alfred nodded after letting go and took off again. _'One more lap.'_ He sprinted across the starting line, he hadn't even realized he had pulled Feliciano the whole way around. Oh well. The teacher didn't seem to have noticed.

"I want to see some more hustle out there! Those of you on your first laps should be on your second by now!" The teacher yelled.

 _'Good thing I pulled Feliciano after all.'_ Alfred rolled his eyes and sprinted around the second curve. Half-way to the finish line. Thankfully running was never a big deal for him, so he could easily sprint out three laps and collapse on the grass afterwards.

Feliciano ran over the starting line and sprinted as fast as he could go around the first curve. Alfred was already rounding the third curve and towards the last one. "He's almost done already…" Feliciano cried and found his second wind of energy to use towards running. "Three laps is enough, I don't want to run anymore~"

Alfred dashed around the last corner, barely avoiding running into someone who was using the inside lane despite going (really) slow, "Hey, slow people are supposed to be on the outside lane, thank you~" Alfred waved at the male cheerfully and sprinted across the starting line. He instantly slowed to a stop and wandered off the track, plopping himself on the grass so he could catch his breath.

"Excellent hustle, Jones." The teacher nodded.

Alfred grinned at the teacher and re-directed his attention towards the track.

Feliciano hurried around the third corner and continued running along the straight stretch towards the fourth, "This is…ridiculous!" He cried but managed to keep running around the fourth and towards the starting line.

"Wow. He's actually still running." Alfred watched Feliciano in amazement. _'If he could run like that to begin with, why didn't he? Geez…'_ He was half-tempted to take his phone out, but with the coach standing only a few feet away, it probably wouldn't be the best idea.

Feliciano crossed the starting line, feeling the aching in his legs starting up already, but kept running, though he was beginning to slow down a bit. "Not gonna make it the whole way while running…" Feliciano gasped in between breaths and forced himself to keep going.

"Who all is on their second lap?!" The teacher yelled, "Raise your hands!"

Feliciano looked around and saw at least ten students raise their hands, as he crossed the second corner and ran down the straight stretch to the third, "Whoa!"

Alfred gaped in disbelief, "Whaaaat? So many!"

"All of you are running an additional lap! Anyone on their first lap, can run TWO more! I don't want to see ANYONE walking!"

Feliciano panicked and kept running despite the pain, "I don't wanna run any more!" He sprinted around the third corner and towards the last one. "One more…one more…"

"He's gonna make it." Alfred watched Feliciano, grinning slightly.

Feliciano staggered around the last corner and did a half-jog, half-run to the finish line before staggering off the track and collapsing face-first into the grass next to Alfred. "Owwww…."

"Nice job." Alfred laughed, patting him on the shoulder.

"Good hustle, Vargas." The coach called and glared back out at the running track, "Let's see some more running! Yao! If you don't hurry up your pace you're getting another lap!"

Alfred watched the Chinese yelp and quicken his pace in a hurry. "Huh…fear as motivation. It actually works." He nodded to himself and continued to watch his classmates running around. He had since caught his breath and could probably run another lap or two, but he remained sitting. No point in making himself too tired to pay attention in class next bell.

.

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* * *

Grammar updates.


	17. Tempers Flaring High

Combined chapters in this one.

* * *

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.

 **Third Bell: Study Hall**

Arthur tapped his phone on the table in front of him. Fortunately Miss Summers didn't mind them using their phones while they were in study hall. He glanced down at the status message updates and sighed. No one was posting as of right now. Except for…Alfred. Why he couldn't just talk since he was sitting right next to him, Arthur had no clue.

 ** _Alfred: :D Gym was so much fun~_**

 ** _Arthur: Why can't you just talk out loud?!_**

 ** _Alfred: Because there are other people in the room. :T Eavesdroppers…_**

 ** _Arthur: You are such a paranoid idiot._**

Alfred looked at him with a hurt expression on his face, "How meeeean!"

Arthur glared at him in response, "I don't even want to hear it."

 ** _Alfred: But someone might be listening~_**

 ** _Arthur: Why would they even care?!_**

 ** _Gilbert: Dude. You two need to chill. I can feel my phone going off in my pocket._**

 ** _Matthew: Eh, Alfred, just talk out loud._**

 ** _Arthur: See, still eavesdroppers._**

 ** _Alfred: They're friends though :D_**

 ** _Gilbert: Mein gott. Just talk out loud and let me sleep!_**

 ** _Arthur: ._. Shouldn't you be paying attention?_**

 ** _Matthew: I don't wanna get sent to the office again, Gilbert!_**

 ** _Alfred: XD You two are awesome~_**

 ** _Matthew: *is giving up now*_**

 ** _Arthur: That was fast._**

Alfred drummed his fingers on the desk, "I wonder why he and Cruz broke up anyway."

"Don't know." Arthur glanced at his phone again.

 ** _Cruz: Hey Gilbert. Your brother is going to be in the nurse's office soon._**

 ** _Gilbert: What? Which one?_**

 ** _Cruz: Miniature-idiot._**

 ** _Gilbert: oh you mean Mini-Stiff? Don't care._**

 ** _Cruz: Good._**

Arthur made a face. This clearly was not going to end well in Cruz's class. Maybe their personalities were just conflicting with one another. Arthur looked over at Alfred, he seemed rather worried, "I wouldn't dwell too much on it."

"Yeah but he's my brother~ I'm worried about him!" Alfred sulked and flopped his arms across the table.

"Yes, but breakups are a regular occurrence. I'm sure if the feelings are there, they'll end up getting back together anyhow." Arthur shrugged and laid his phone down on the table, ignoring any more updates that were coming.

Alfred sighed, "Life was so much easier before hormones."

"Since when do you have a problem with hormones?" Arthur looked at him rather amused, "I haven't seen you chasing anyone yet."

"Just because I don't show it, doesn't mean it's not there!" Alfred protested, "I totally have a crush." He pouted instantly.

Arthur just patted Alfred on the head, "Yes, yes."

"I do! I'm not making that up!" Alfred yelped, flailing his arms around, causing several people to stare in their direction.

Arthur rolled his eyes and instantly buried his face in his hands in embarrassment. It was no wonder people listened in on the conversation, half the time they couldn't help it with Alfred being so damn loud!

"Arthur? Arthur, are you okay?" Alfred poked his arm several times.

"I'm fine." Arthur sighed heavily.

"Aw, I'm sorry, did I remind you that you're having problems on the love front?" Alfred put an arm around Arthur's shoulders and patted him on the far shoulder, attempting to comfort him.

Arthur winced slightly and half-glared at Alfred, "Do not bring that up."

"You can do it, Arthur~" Alfred cheered.

"Not happening." Arthur buried his face in his hands again, cheeks burning once more. What a clueless git. He wouldn't see a clue if it were two feet in front of him!

"Well sooner or later nerves build up right? So you'll just tell whoever it is without even realizing what you said!" Alfred grinned.

Arthur stared at Alfred for a moment before responding, "And then upon the realization of what I _did_ just say, will promptly run in the opposite direction."

"No no no no." Alfred waved a hand around, dismissing Arthur's ending to the scenario, "You stay frozen in one spot. _Then_ you run."

Arthur sighed heavily, "I'm doomed in other words."

"I didn't say that!" Alfred pouted, "Hey, who is it anyway?"

Arthur glared at Alfred, "None of your business."

"Tell meeeee~" Alfred tugged on Arthur's sleeve.

.

* * *

 **Science**

Gilbert leaned over his desk, staring at the board with a dull-eyed expression on his face. Could this possibly drag on any longer? Currently sitting with elbows propped on the desk, and his chin cupped in the palms of his hands, Gilbert glanced sideways over at Matthew…who was sleeping. Again. Gilbert let out a quiet sigh. Lesson learned in attempting to wake the blonde up though. Better to let him sleep and hope that Mrs. Unawesome-Specks doesn't notice.

Matthew jerked awake and stared wide-eyed at the board for a minute before feeling his head dropping once more. Not a good day. What was with this class and constantly feeling tired? Probably because it covered almost nothing interesting. Matthew glanced at the empty sheet of notebook paper in front of him, thinking back to the night before. Maybe he could just write a list of random things about himself. That would help out the issue with Cruz, right? _'Number one…science makes me tired.'_ Matthew sighed as soon as he himself writing it. Well, it counted, somewhat.

Gilbert drummed his fingers on the desktop, only leaning the side of his face against his left hand now. Sure science was a boring class, but music would probably be even more so, right? What could they possibly learn in music anyway? With his luck, they would be like the school's drama club and have to perform in plays. Not happening. So here Gilbert sat, in the most boring -most-ridiculous-time-stopping-unawesome-lecture-ever. _'…Maybe Vati is right. I should really stop giving nicknames to things. The nicknames are longer than the actual names.'_ Gilbert sighed heavily once more.

 _'Number two…eh…something about school or myself personally? Um…'_ Matthew tilted his head slightly, staring at the board while deep in thought. _'I prefer walking in the park to seeing a movie?'_ Matthew held his head in both hands. What kind of list was this going to turn out to be anyway? Something really weird. Matthew bit the end of his mechanical pencil, still thinking.

.

* * *

 **World History**

Lovino leaned across his desk, glaring at the board, while attempting to ignore the two sitting near him. Feliciano was staring at Ludwig with a dazed-all-too-happy-look on his face, while Ludwig was looking at the board, apparently not noticing the look on Feliciano's face at all. Lovino rolled his eyes and glared down at the tomato-print journal which was laying in the pile of notebooks. What the hell was he supposed to write in that thing again? Just how he felt during the day? Easy enough. This class he could put: Annoyed. Lovino stared at the board as their teacher, Mr. Specks (what kind of name was that anyway?), continued talking.

Ludwig didn't mind World History so much. It was the lectures they were getting that made it seem rather unappealing in his mind. Couldn't they at least have a video or something to watch instead? Instead, listening to the long-winded speech and attempting to jot notes down at the same time was rather tedious. Ludwig looked down at his notebook, already having filled the one side of the first piece of paper inside. _'Well…hopefully what I'm writing down is actually going to be useful.'_ Ludwig looked back to the front of the room.

Lovino glanced down at the notebook he currently had laying open and back up to the teacher again. He really should be taking notes about whatever this guy was saying. But…ugh. This was just uninteresting… Lovino glanced at his phone underneath his desk, feeling the slight vibration of his cellular device go off.

 ** _Cruz: This guy is going to get seriously hurt soon._**

Lovino raised an eyebrow in confusion. Who the heck was he even talking about? He scrolled up through the status updates he had missed. Oh. Gilbert's other brother. Lovino smirked. Apparently, Feliciano was the only person who could stand the guy. Probably because Ardrich looked like Ludwig, just shorter. And with less muscle. Lovino could have easily hit his forehead several times with his notebook just for that thought going through his head. Who cares if Ludwig had more muscle?! Antonio had _toned_ muscle. Lovino promptly hit his forehead with his notebook, turning red. Damn it.

Feliciano was currently letting his chin rest on top of his books, staring at Ludwig (quite happily), despite the muscle aches he was feeling in his legs from running for so long during gym last bell. Currently sitting behind Ludwig, Feliciano tilted his head slightly, not caring that he couldn't see the board from his vantage point. A quiet thump distracted his attention however, and Feliciano turned his head to see Lovino hitting himself with his notebook. "Huh?"

Ludwig glanced to his left and blinked at Lovino. _'What is he doing that for?'_ Ludwig watched the notebook as it hit Lovino several times.

 _'Idiot, idiot, idiot.'_ Lovino scowled and repeatedly hit himself with the notebook. He finally laid it down on his desk, glaring at Ludwig and Feliciano who were both staring at him and pointedly motioned to the board, signaling them to look somewhere else instead of at him. Lovino turned his own head back towards the front of the room, making a mental note to hit Antonio over the head later for occupying his thoughts. Even if it wasn't really his fault. Stupid bastard.

Feliciano tilted his head at the motioning hand and peered around Ludwig to look at the board. Nothing written on it. So there wasn't anything of note to copy down yet. Feliciano relaxed, setting his chin back on his notebooks and continued staring off into space, or rather, staring at the back of Ludwig's head.

Ludwig looked back front, still confused. _'Ach. I missed what he was saying now. Damn it.'_ Ludwig crossed a single-line through what he had been writing and frowned. Now what? Just keep going with what the teacher was saying now.

.

* * *

 **Math Class**

Cruz drummed his fingers on the desktop. It had been a little while now since he had updated the status message the last time. But the stupid small blonde really was asking for it. He turned his head slightly, glaring at Ardrich through the corner of his eye. What the hell was he doing anyway? Besides making that damn annoying whistling sound that was irritating Cruz so much. Cruz made a slight strangling motion with both hands and reverted his attention to the board. If he just ignored it, maybe it would stop.

…

Right. Like hell that would happen. Problems do NOT go away if they're ignored! Cruz turned his head towards Cruz, glaring (rather menacingly, but that was not on purpose), "Stop. Whistling."

Ardrich just stared at the Cuban, "Why? It's not bothering anybody."

"If it wasn't bothering me, I wouldn't have said anything, smartass." Cruz retorted, completely ignoring the fact that the students around them were staring at them with wide-eyed looks.

"Well, I didn't realize you were so focused on your studies." Ardrich rolled his eyes, "So sorry."

Cruz's eyes narrowed. He wasn't sure if it was the first part of the sentence, or the obvious sarcasm that was being used that had ticked him off so much right then. "Are you trying to get yourself hurt on the second day of school?" He smirked, forcing a semi-pleasant look on his face.

"No." Ardrich just stared at him as if he had two heads, lip curling slightly.

"You're doing a damn fine job of getting yourself there anyway." Cruz snapped, "Do not whistle. Unless you want punched in the damn face, then by all means, whistle." That threat was worth the trip to the principal's office he would (no doubt) be getting. …So was the look on Ardrich's face. Two for the price of one!

Ardrich just shook his head and reverted his attention back to the front of the room. He started tapping his pencil on the top of his desk, making a face at the alien language that was being taught to them, or rather being read to them, because Ardrich wasn't learning any of this crap. The brain was not storing any information whatsoever. No surprise there.

Cruz made the strangling motion with his hands again. Now of course the blonde was going to be tapping his desk with the pencil. That was within the loophole Cruz had given him apparently. Cruz honestly couldn't tell if Ardrich was doing that on purpose, or if he was that focused, that he didn't even realized the annoyances he was causing. Cruz shook his head and just put his hand over that ear, leaning on the desk. Block it out. Getting into a fight on the second day of school would not bode well at all.

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* * *

Grammar updates again. And moving chapters around.


	18. Inedible Lunches

Moving on.

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 **Fourth Bell: Lunch**

Matthew stared at the lunch he was given. He glanced back at the menu board belonging to the line he had gotten in and then back at his tray once more. This looked absolutely nothing like what he was supposed to have gotten. Wrong tray? Matthew tilted his head. "…" He peeled the wrapper off with one hand, lifting it slightly off the damp bread underneath, "…" Well that was…not appetizing in the least. Looks like he would be drinking today's lunch. Matthew unscrewed the cap to his water and started drinking from it, watching as Alfred came over.

"Yo." Alfred plopped down diagonal from him on the opposite side of the table. He set the tray down in front of him and glared at the food on it. Apparently they had somehow gotten the wrong shipments of food in and didn't bother changing the signs, so now he was stuck with…whatever this was. Soup was soup and that was fine…but what the hell was up with this sandwich?

Arthur slammed his tray down on the table and sat next to Matthew, looking extremely irritated. "Well, how nice of them to change the lunch signs."

"Eh?" Matthew blinked at him in confusion.

"Oh you heard that, too?" Alfred sighed, "Apparently they got in the wrong shipment of food." He glanced at Matthew's tray, "Uh…what _is_ that?"

"Something destined for the trash can." Matthew commented, taking another gulp of water.

"Better safe than sorry." Arthur sighed, lifting the top bun of his own sandwich, "…"

"What is it anyway?" Alfred leaned over, squinting at Arthur's lunch.

"An overdone hockey puck." Arthur responded, "The lunches at the emotional facility were more edible than this."

Matthew nodded in silence, taking another gulp of water.

Gilbert collapsed in the seat beside Arthur and instantly laid his head down on the table, no tray in sight. "Mein gott…I just wanna go to sleep."

"Not eating?" Arthur looked at him in surprise.

"No. I saw those trays. I'm not going to the nurse's office with food poisoning again." Gilbert snapped, "I'd sooner wait until I get home to eat lunch."

"It's probably safer in the long run." Matthew sighed heavily.

"I'll trade you mystery meat for hockey puck." Alfred offered, holding his sandwich out to Arthur.

"Take it." Arthur sighed and tossed the re-wrapped sandwich at the taller blonde, "What makes this mystery meat?" He looked at it, curiously, "…"

"I think you got your answer." Gilbert smirked.

"Interesting. Perhaps meatless mystery is a better word for it. I think you got the vegetarian entrée." Arthur commented towards Alfred.

Alfred picked up what Arthur called a hockey puck and tapped it several times on his tray, "Are we sure this is edible?"

Arthur took a bite of the sandwich he had gotten from Alfred and froze, "…"

Matthew watched Arthur's face slowly drain of color as Cruz sat down directly across from him, leaving the seat to the left of Alfred open for Antonio to sit across from Gilbert.

"Go for it." Gilbert grinned, "I wanna see you eat that." He pointed at the 'hockey puck' that Alfred was now slamming against the tray.

"Dude. I'll break my teeth." Alfred protested, "This thing isn't even cracking! It's not doing anything!"

Matthew continued watching Arthur, "…Are you okay?"

Arthur calmly placed the sandwich back down on his tray without saying anything. He leaned over the table and picked up the plastic fork from Alfred's tray and proceeded to stab the sandwich on his own tray several times, finally leaving the fork standing straight up in the middle of the bread.

"…" Gilbert stared at the mutilated sandwich, "Was it that bad?"

Arthur stared at Gilbert in silence, half-glaring at the male.

Alfred grinned and tied his straw wrapper to the top of the fork, looping it around to make it look like a little white flag, "Ta-da~"

"…" Matthew shook his head in silence.

"…" Cruz looked back and forth between the two trays and then back at his own normal-looking salad, "Is this the only regular lunch?"

"Probably the only edible one, too." Gilbert laughed.

Matthew blinked and leaned forward slightly, looking at the salad. _'…Did something just move?'_ "Eh…"

"Looks normal." Alfred continued hitting his 'hockey puck' against the tray, still failing in breaking it, "This on the other hand…"

Arthur picked up his napkin and acted like he was cleaning crumbs off from around his mouth, and instead spat out the mouthful he had been holding in his mouth. He carefully crumpled it up and hid it underneath the rest of the plastic wrap on the tray.

Cruz shrugged and took the fork out of his wrapper, "Well then. Guess I'm the only one eating for once."

"Eh." Matthew lifted up one of the leaves of lettuce with his own fork, "Only if you want something with eight legs."

Cruz froze, "…"

Alfred slowly turned his head to look at the bowl of salad, "There's a spider in there?"

"Yeah. Pretty big one, too." Matthew picked it up with his fork and held it up, "Still hungry?" He blinked at Cruz.

"No." Cruz pushed the tray to the side, "That thing probably had a nest in there."

"Someone should complain about this." Gilbert laughed, "Even the normal-looking salad wasn't normal~"

Matthew tilted the spider back into the abandoned salad bowl and plopped his fork down on top of the lettuce leaves. "Well then."

"It's only been ten minutes." Arthur commented, his face still discolored slightly.

"Ja." Gilbert laid his head back down, "Sleeping time."

Alfred picked up his soup spoon and took a sip of his soup, "…"

"How is it?" Cruz asked, staring at the bowl.

Alfred laid his soup spoon down on the tray, "You're quite welcome to it."

"Not with a reaction like that." Cruz snapped.

Matthew tilted his head and used his spoon to steal a spoonful, "?" He tried it, much to the amazed looks of Arthur, Alfred, and Cruz. "…" Matthew blinked a couple times, "Eh…I'm not even sure what that is."

"Destined for the trash can is what it is." Alfred commented, "Not any soup I've ever tasted."

Arthur shook his head, "What's wrong with your sandwich anyhow?" He glanced over at Matthew's tray.

Matthew picked up the plastic wrap, bringing the sandwich up with it, without even taking hold of the bread.

"…" Cruz stared at in disbelief, "What the hell?"

"…" Gilbert made a face, "That's classic good food quality right there. The bread's not even baked the whole way."

Arthur turned in his seat to look back at the menus, "Someone should write unspeakable horror on those things."

Gilbert made a scoffing sound, "Ja, sure, and be stuck with detention for it. You go do it."

Alfred grinned, "The other students deserve to know~" He skipped over to where the boards were.

"…" Arthur stared at him with a blank gaze, "Is he seriously going to…"

"Oh my word." Matthew sighed, burying his face in his hands.

Cruz burst out laughing as Alfred wrote out exactly what Arthur had said on all four boards.

"Well." Gilbert smirked as a teacher came over to read what Alfred wrote, while the blonde skipped away and back to his seat once more.

Alfred plopped down and continued grinning, "Done~!"

"I can't believe you just did that." Arthur sighed, "Idiot."

Matthew pushed his tray to the side and laid his head down on the table as well, "Eh…seems like a good time for a nap now."

Gilbert grinned, "Now I'm not the only one who's taking a nap~"

Arthur shook his head and continued sipping his iced tea, "You two enjoy your naps."

"He's already asleep." Cruz said flatly, pointing to Matthew.

"That was fast!" Alfred yelped, "Geez!"

"Must be nice to be able to fall asleep that fast." Gilbert sighed, burying his face in his arms, "Meh."

"Probably not so nice during class. Which you seem to be able to fall asleep during just fine." Arthur added flatly.

"Ja, ja. That's because it's so boring." Gilbert huffed, not looking up.

Cruz finished off his drink and plopped it down on the tray. "Spiders can have the can if they want it."

Alfred grinned, "You could always just tip the spiders out somewhere and then eat the salad."

"I'm not taking any chances." Cruz snapped.

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* * *

 **Home Education**

Ludwig stared blankly at the needlework frame he had been handed, "…We're supposed to _what?"_

"I want you to come up with a quote that describes how you feel about family time spent at home." Miss Summers smiled cheerfully, "That goes for you, too, Ardrich." She glanced at the blonde sitting next to Ludwig who looked like he wasn't paying the least bit attention.

"How are we supposed to do that in _one_ quote?" Ardrich rolled his eyes.

Ludwig picked it up and glanced at the cloth, tugging on it slightly. "…" How _were_ they supposed to do this?

"Just do your best~" Miss Summers continued smiling, "I understand this might be slightly difficult…" She handed a needlework frame to the female sitting at the next table over, "If it helps, just imagine you all sitting in the same room, spending quiet quality time together."

"There is never quiet quality time at home." Ludwig spoke up without hesitation.

"…" Miss Summers looked over at them blankly, "Never?"

"No. Someone starts an argument every. Single. Time." Ludwig glared at Ardrich.

"I see…well then, just imagine~" Miss Summers laughed.

Ludwig stared at the teacher in disbelief. Any person could tell her he was not the most imaginative person in the school. Rather he didn't imagine things at all. Distracting one's self from reality rarely led to any good at all. He looked back at the needle and thread, staring at the two objects that were laying on the table.

"What if we don't get along with everyone in the family?" Ardrich asked flatly.

"As I said, just do your best." Miss Summers sighed and gave out needle and thread to the female student she had just given the frame to.

Ludwig pulled out his notebook and pen, and just held the pen tip over the paper. Writing down any ideas seemed the best way to start…but…Ludwig sighed. He couldn't come up with much of anything.

Ardrich made a face at the frame, "What the hell am I supposed to write out in this?" He picked up the needle and jabbed the frame a couple times.

 _'I wonder what Gilbert is writing out?'_ Ludwig tilted his head slightly, absent-mindedly drawing a small doodle in the corner of his notebook. He really didn't have a problem with family time…it's just…they very rarely ever got it with everyone sitting in the same room, because, for some reason, Gilbert just preferred to spend time alone in his room. "…" Ludwig blinked at the sudden idea that had popped into his mind. He knew what he was going to write in this thing!

Ardrich scowled at the frame in front of him. What the hell was he supposed to write in here? He tapped the needle several times on the table, frowning. It's not like the fights were completely his fault. Vati said he and Gilbert just had opposing personalities. So Ardrich could blame the fights on that (whatever it meant). Ardrich tilted his head slightly. But wasn't there also a saying that said opposites attract? Or was that only for non-relatives? And what the hell did it matter? He was supposed to be thinking about his project! Ardrich let out a frustrated sigh and just laid his head down on the table. His gaze drifted to Ludwig and he saw his brother was already going around the edge of the frame, presumably doing a border of some sort. _'Must be nice to have thought of something so damn fast.'_

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* * *

Grammar updates and moving chapters around.


	19. Changes from year to year

Moving on.

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Lovino headed over to the lunch lines and looked at the menus up on the wall. His gaze slowly drifted to the lettering below each menu item. "…Unspeakable horror?" Lovino blinked. Many of the other students stood outside the lunch lines, just staring at the menu.

"What is…what the hell is an unspeakable horror?" Ludwig blinked, coming up to stand beside Lovino.

"This does not bode well for lunch." Lovino stalked towards the emptiest line he saw. Which wasn't that much different from the other lines, actually. The line that some idiot had written on the menus was apparently killing off everyone's appetite. He picked up the tray that was sitting on the counter and headed back out again, going for the table in the back he had sat at yesterday, only to find it occupied by someone else… "What the heck are you doing in this lunch?" Lovino put his tray on the table next to Antonio.

"Hm?" Antonio looked up from his own tray, "Hi, Lovi~" He instantly pulled Lovino into a hug, making the Italian sit on the empty chair whether he was ready to sit or not.

"Answer the question, damn it!" Lovino yelled, his face turning bright red.

"Well I was in the office during last bell because I wanted to switch one of my classes, so I was allowed to skip my normal class this bell and come to lunch instead." Antonio smiled cheerfully, "Which means I get to eat with Lovi~"

"Yeah. The inedible lunch that this is." Lovino glared at the sandwich on his tray, "What the hell is this thing?"

"A hockey puck if it's like mine." Antonio grinned, motioning to the lump on his tray.

Lovino glanced at Antonio's tray and noticed the only thing gone was the bread, "What happened to the roll?"

"I ate it. It was the only thing edible." Antonio made a face, "Whoever wrote unspeakable horror on all the signs must have had a table that had almost every lunch on it."

Ludwig came over and sat two seats away from Lovino, "Well. I can see why it's a horror." He glared at the bowl of soup he had gotten, along with the bread that looked like it was almost completely soaked through.

"So appetizing." Lovino rolled his eyes sarcastically and lifted up the top slice of bread, "…"

"Oh hello Antonio." Roderich sat down next to Lovino and instantly laid his napkin across his lap.

"Hello again~!" Antonio waved with a big grin, "Feeling better now that we're not in gym?"

"That was ridiculous." Roderich grumbled, but made no further comment on it. He picked up his fork and started stabbing the salad in front of him.

Ludwig smiled a bit, remembering the entertaining gym class from the early morning, "The teacher made you run three laps as well?"

"Yeah, but he made other people run as many as six. It was funny!" Antonio laughed, "They couldn't keep up at all!"

"I don't find it funny at all. Honestly, if he wants to make people run that much, then why doesn't he just go and be a drill sergeant somewhere? He has the voice for it." Roderich huffed.

"Roderich had to run four." Antonio added, grinning.

Roderich's face reddened a bit, "Well excuse me for not being the most physically fit of the class!"

Lovino sighed. He felt as if he was sitting in between two children. Glancing up, he noticed Feliciano coming over with Ardrich, who did not look happy at all.

Ardrich dropped the tray on the table and sat at a chair that was two seats to the left of Antonio. He was glaring at no one in particular, and not even looking at the tray of inedible food that had just landed on the table in front of him.

Ludwig raised an eyebrow at his brother's attitude, but decided it be best to not ask what was bothering him. Chances are, he didn't want to know the answer, or it didn't pertain to Ludwig anyway.

"What is with the lunches today?" Feliciano sat in between Ardrich and Ludwig and sulked, "Even the soup looked awful."

Lovino glanced at Ludwig's tray, noticing the soup and sandwich remained sitting where they were at. Apparently he hadn't even bothered trying either of the two. Not that Lovino blamed him. He glanced to the right and noticed Roderich's salad seemed to be the safest bet…at least until he noticed that something in the bowl was looking back, "Uh…Roderich…"

"Hm?" Roderich glanced at him.

"There's something in your salad." Lovino edged the chair away from Roderich's tray.

"As long as it's not alive." Roderich commented dryly.

"I'm relatively certain it is. Because it's looking back." Lovino continued scooting his chair closer to Antonio's seat (not on purpose).

Antonio leaned around Lovino to see, "Oh. There's a spi-"

Lovino kicked Antonio in the leg before he could finish the word, but Roderich got the hint and promptly tossed the entire salad in the trash can located near the table.

Ludwig glanced at the trashcan that just had the bowl thrown in it, "…"

"I'll just skip lunch I think." Roderich commented, choosing to have his drink instead.

Lovino nodded hastily and ended up dumping his entire tray in the trash. Screw it. He'd just eat when he got home. He tried to move his chair back over, but Antonio had wrapped his right foot around the chair leg and prevented it from moving. Lovino glared daggers at Antonio, who just continued to smile cheerfully.

Ludwig tilted his head slightly. He stood up and dropped his own tray in the trash and sat back down again, taking out the needlework project instead. Humming a random song, Ludwig opted to continue on the border he had been doing during Home Education.

"Oh, what is that?" Roderich blinked, leaning over a little to see what Ludwig was doing.

"Project for Home Education. We're supposed to write a quote that says what family time means to us." Ludwig commented.

Lovino looked over, an expression of horror on his face, "That is NOT happening."

Ardrich scowled, "What the hell are we supposed to write anyway? We don't HAVE family time at our house!" He threw the tray in the trashcan behind him and continued glaring.

Feliciano tilted his head, "I wonder what I should put in it…"

Antonio thought for a moment, "Huh. I don't know what I'd write. We don't spend much time together at my house. Either mom is working and dad's home, or dad's working and mom's home."

"Our parents are usually both home by supper but…we can't tolerate each other other long enough to all sit in the same room." Ludwig sighed, mostly referring to Gilbert and Ardrich, though Gilbert and Regis could apply there as well.

Roderich shook his head with a heavy sigh. It really was ridiculous how Gilbert just refused to get along with anyone in his family. What the heck was his problem anyway? They were fine at the beginning of summer, but just…all of a sudden…the defensive Gilbert came back.

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* * *

 **Home Education… sort of.**

Matthew sat in the guidance office, swinging his legs back and forth underneath his chair. He had come down straight after lunch, so no doubt Miss Summers was wondering where he was. Hands clinging to the side of the chair, Matthew leaned forward to peer into the small office. The secretary had been trying to find an available counselor for the past fifteen minutes. Maybe they were all just on lunch or something.

"Oh, I can talk to him."

"That would be such a help, thank you! I'll show him back here then!"

Matthew leaned forward again, hearing the muffled voices. The secretary hurried around the corner. He blinked up at her, wondering which counselor he was getting. He had hardly come down here last year, only appearing in the smaller office once or twice (mainly just to skip a problematic class), so he hadn't met all the counselors just yet.

"This way, Mr. Williams." The secretary smiled, and waved for him to follow.

Matthew wandered after her down the short hall to an office at the end of the row of doors. He didn't even pay attention to the name that was on the door, just ducked inside after thanking the woman. He half-wished he _had_ seen the name, now that he saw who the only occupant in the room was.

"Hiiiii~" Roma waved cheerfully from the chair he was sitting in. Apparently he had been doing something on the computer because the desktop was showing, but several tabs were at the bottom of the screen.

"Eh…I didn't even know you were a counselor here." Matthew stared at him with a blank expression on his face.

"I volunteer now and then. Mostly just when I'm staying at my son's house." Roma smiled and motioned to an empty chair, "Sit sit~"

Matthew slowly sat in the empty chair that Roma was motioning to, though he would have rather put as much distance in between himself and this room at the moment. He glanced around the nearly-empty room, his eyes focusing instead on a photograph that was sitting on the shelf, "...Isn't that Gilbert's dad?"

"Hm?" Roma looked up at the picture and instantly knocked it over so the picture was laying face-down, "It was, yes."

 _'That must not be a topic of conversation to bring up.'_ Matthew noticed the counselor's face had reddened slightly and began swinging his legs back and forth again. "…"

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Roma tilted his head, the cheerful expression returning once more.

There goes that feeling of being looked right through again. Matthew stared at him for a moment, still tempted to run. "Uh…my lack of change after last year…?"

"It sounds more as if you don't know what you want to talk about, but know you need to talk about something." Roma laughed, "But we'll go from that."

 _'He really can see right through me.'_ Matthew sank in his chair a little, blushing a bit from embarrassment.

Roma tapped the countertop beside him with his hand, "So you don't feel as though you've changed at all?"

Matthew shook his head in silence. He stared at the floor, rather than look up at Roma. It seemed rather strange to be talking about it to someone who had been a counselor at the therapy place he was at just earlier the same year.

"Do you talk to your brother more?" Roma continued tapping the counter.

"I don't think so." Matthew sighed, "I only talk to him if he talks to me first, and even then…it doesn't happen very often."

"Do you talk to your friends more often?" Roma tilted his head. The cheerful expression had softened a bit, and he looked at least a little more serious now.

Matthew's first thought was Cruz, in which case the answer would be a resounding no. "…I just talk to Gilbert and Arthur…I don't see Lovino all that often, so I don't talk to him much…"

"So the ones who were at the counsel building last year are the only ones you feel comfortable around?" Roma blinked.

Matthew sighed heavily and hung his head, nodding in silence. Comfortable probably wasn't the word he would use, but he could talk to them more openly than others.

Roma leaned back in his chair and glanced around the room, "You don't talk to your parents any more than you used to?"

"No…" Matthew shook his head again.

"Do you have issues trusting people?" Roma asked suddenly.

Matthew blinked at the sudden topic change. "Eh? Not really."

"If you told your brother something that you didn't want him to repeat, would you trust him to keep it a secret?" Roma asked.

"No." Matthew answered flatly. Alfred was NOT the best choice for keeping any kind of secret.

"Your parents?" Roma tried.

"…" Matthew shook his head again and sighed again.

"What about Cruz then?" Roma tilted his head again at the blonde.

"Okay, so I have issues trusting people after all." Matthew avoided answering the last question as his face reddened.

"Just a bit." Roma smiled, "Would you trust Gilbert or Arthur?"

Matthew blinked for a moment, "Eh…yes."

"You three aren't hiding secrets about each other from others who should know, right?" Roma blinked.

Matthew stiffened a bit, "Not that I know of." He glanced around the room, avoiding eye contact with the adult.

"I wonder." Roma commented softly. He leaned forward in the chair slightly, arms in his lap, "When you need someone to talk to, who do you go to?"

Matthew looked back at Roma. "….." He really couldn't think of any time when he felt like he absolutely had to talk to someone.

Roma frowned a bit, "You don't talk to anyone?"

"I don't…feel like I _have_ to talk to someone…" Matthew looked away again, his gaze going out the window instead.

"Not even when you're upset?"

"No. I usually just stay in my room or keep to myself." Matthew leaned on the armrest of his chair slightly.

Roma made a face and leaned back in his chair once more, "Well I can't exactly criticize you on that, since I do the same thing, but it certainly isn't good for your emotional state of health."

 _'Doesn't that mean that_ his _emotional state of health is bad?'_ Matthew stared at Roma, but made no response.

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* * *

 **After School Hours**

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Matthew trailed along the side of the path that went through the park. He glanced at the ice-cream stand, still a little ways ahead of where he was currently at. Stop or not stop... Matthew glanced back behind him. He hadn't seen Cruz at all after school, so he had assumed that Cruz already left for home. Matthew sighed and kept walking. He ended up getting a bowl of the Berry Mint ice-cream as he was passing by anyway. Might as well eat and walk at the same time.

 _"You are trying, whether you believe that yourself or not. If you weren't trying to change the way you react to certain situations, you wouldn't be sitting down here."_

Matthew took a small spoonful of the ice-cream and munched on it, remembering the conversation with Roma. It hadn't been that bad, actually. At least it didn't seem like it this time. Maybe it was because Roma had seemed distracted the entire time he was talking to him for some reason. Matthew tilted his head. He could have sworn he saw Roma look up towards the face-down picture frame a couple times. Maybe they weren't getting along?

 _"Eh. That's true I guess...but...I got referred to as a mask yesterday…and someone else said he's known me for over a year and knows next to nothing about me…I just don't feel like I changed."_

 _"Well change takes place over time. You can't expect to see results right away. Sometimes it just takes longer. As far as the mask goes, try showing your emotions outwardly more. If people don't know how you're feeling, they won't know how you're reacting. If someone wants to know more about you, they can either ask a specific question or you can make a list. Either one will work."_

Matthew remembered the paper he had started writing in science. That was a little spooky that both he and Roma had thought of the same thing. That or Roma had somehow knew he was already making one, but that would be impossible. So as soon as he thought he had enough on the list, he would give it to Cruz. Matthew's face reddened a bit. Somehow the thought of that was a little embarrassing. Maybe he could come up with some other way of giving it to him. Matthew munched on another spoonful of ice-cream, still deep in thought.

"Hey."

Matthew turned and stared blankly at Cruz, spoon still being held in his mouth.

"That's one hell of a facial expression." Cruz commented flatly, also holding a dish of ice-cream. Apparently he had _not_ gone home before Matthew. Well then.

Matthew blinked a couple times, "What expression?" Matthew tilted his head slightly, putting the spoon back in his bowl.

"The one you were just making." Cruz stared at him for a moment before starting to walk again. At least it was at a slower pace than yesterday.

Matthew walked along beside him. He glanced over at the bowl Cruz had, and found instead of the standard vanilla he had always gotten, Cruz now had the berry-mint ice-cream that Matthew was also holding, "…No vanilla?"

"Didn't feel like getting it." Cruz responded, munching on the pink ice-cream.

"…Oh. So you liked it that much yesterday?" Matthew asked, a slight hint of teasing in his voice.

"I did _not_ say that." Cruz's face reddened a bit, but he continued eating anyway.

Matthew laughed and continued eating his own ice-cream. "…I thought you had gone home already. You weren't by the gate."

"Got held up in last class. Stupid teacher wanted us to come up with ideas for that damn frame on family time or whatever." Cruz rolled his eyes.

"Oh. I forgot…oh well." Matthew shrugged and kept eating. He had ended up skipping his Home Education class to go talk to Roma, and as a result, ended up missing Gym as well, not that he was complaining.

"Forgot about what?" Cruz blinked at Matthew in confusion.

"Oh, I missed class. I guess I'll just get the stuff tomorrow." Matthew kept munching, at least for a minute before something grabbed his arm and yanked him to a stop (rather forcibly).

"What the hell did you miss class for?" Cruz stared at him, one hand holding Matthew's arm, while the other hand held the ice-cream. Certainly was not intimidating in the least. At least not if you noticed the ice-cream instead of the facial expression. The facial expression on the other hand, was slightly intimidating (but only if you ignored the bowl of ice-cream).

"Eh?" Matthew blinked for a moment, forcing his mind to shift gears to the question Cruz had asked. He was about to say 'no reason' but Cruz must have read his mind because his eyes narrowed. Matthew just closed his mouth again, reddening slightly.

"So help me if you say 'no reason' or anything of the sort." Cruz scowled.

"Uhm…how about talking to another teacher?" Matthew tried.

"If you have to say it like that, you're not even close to saying why you missed class, are you?" Cruz continued glaring.

"Actually I was just wondering if that fell under 'anything of the sort'." Matthew looked at the hand that was still holding onto his arm. It was making it impossible to eat the ice-cream, but then again, Cruz couldn't eat his either.

"That would depend on it being the truth or not," Cruz snapped, "But considering it was a crappy lie, then yes, it would fall under 'anything of the sort'."

"Well then." Matthew sighed, "And it wasn't that far from the truth, just saying. I was talking to someone, one of the office staff." That was clearly not a lie he just told. Roma counted as one of the office staff. Volunteer or not.

"For the entire class?" Cruz stared at him, still not looking like he believed what Matthew said, but he had let go of the blonde's arm at least.

"Yes?" Matthew blinked, and continued eating his ice-cream. He smiled a bit and kept walking beside Cruz, matching the taller male's steps.

Cruz didn't make a comment in response and just ate his own ice-cream in silence as they continued walking towards the edge of the park.

Matthew tossed his empty bowl into the trash as he walked out past the fence and onto the sidewalk that led to the intersection where they usually parted ways on the way home. He could see out of the corner of his eye that Cruz was following along one step behind, still eating. Matthew smiled again and continued walking forward, not minding the silence anymore.

"…What the hell am I supposed to write for a quote on family time if we don't have it at my house?" Cruz asked suddenly.

"Uh…" Matthew blinked at him, a little startled by the sudden topic that was brought up, "…Maybe just comment on not having one?"

"Seriously… we never even spend time in the same _building_ as a family, how the hell am I supposed to even do that? I don't know what the hell to compare it to!" Cruz glowered at nothing in particular and threw his foam bowl into the trash can.

Matthew crossed his arms, thinking about it, "…I don't even know what to say with mine. And we do sit together a lot."

"Well you have a hell of a lot better of a school record than I do. Maybe that counts for something." Cruz pointed out flatly.

"What, that spending time together keeps us out of trouble?" Matthew started laughing, "It doesn't do a thing for Alfred!"

"That's because he's not normal." Cruz retorted, "Damn idiot."

Matthew continued laughing, "He's his own definition of normal!"

"Is that how it works?" Cruz sighed.

Matthew smiled cheerfully and started walking with a small skip in his step. This was much better than yesterday. Talking to Roma must have really helped after all!

.

.

* * *

Grammar updates. And chapter combining.


	20. Something Breaking

Moving right along.

* * *

.

.

Gilbert scowled as he dumped everything out of his desk drawer out onto his bed. "Where the hell is it already? I know I put it back in here!" He tossed his pillow across the room with his blanket. "Good thing nobody else is home yet." Gilbert lifted the mattress up, glancing underneath the bedframe, and dropped the mattress in annoyance, ignoring the loud noise it made when it landed. "I've seriously looked everywhere!" He sunk into his chair, not bothering to retrieve his bedding or clean up the pile of stuff that was now laying on the floor.

Scowling, Gilbert buried his face in his hands. _Okay stupid self. What the hell did you do with that bottle?_ He hit his forehead with the palm of one hand several times, hoping that would jog his memory, but all it did was give him a headache. "I could have sworn I put it back in there!" Gilbert yanked open the bottom drawer, scanning the inside in case he had to thrown it in the wrong one. "Not here..." He slammed it shut with his foot and scowled. _Can't ask anyone else to help me look because they don't even know I'm taking it! What the hell do I do now?!_

 **GilbertofAwesome: *bonk* *bonk* *bonk* *bonk***

 **HappyMatthew: Eh? What's wrong?**

 **GilbertofAwesome: Nothing. That's just the sound of my head hitting my desk.**

 **ShortTemperedCruz: What? Why is your head hitting the desk?**

 **GilbertofAwesome: Appropriate username changes by the way. And because I'm an idiot.**

 **AnnoyedRoderich: Did you have a fight again?**

 **GilbertofAwesome: Oh look. Another appropriate username. No, I did not.**

 **AnnoyedRoderich: =_=**

 **HappyMatthew: Eh...**

 **Arthur has signed on**

 **HermitArthur: I give up.**

 **HappyMatthew: ...That username is not appropriate.**

 **ShortTemperedCruz: What the hell? You're a hermit?**

 **HermitArthur: Well it seems to be what Allistor is calling me.**

 **HeroAlfred has signed on**

 **HeroAlfred: Awesome~ Hey hey, Mattie, mom and dad say they're ordering pizza! :D**

 **HappyMatthew: ...you picked the toppings again didn't you?**

 **HeroAlfred: No. Mom and dad did.**

 **HermitArthur: Just keep a bowl for any additional toppings that come on the pizza.**

 **HeroAlfred: Hey, what the heck is up with your username?**

 **HermitArthur: Shut up. =_=**

 **AnnoyedRoderich: Honestly. So why are you calling yourself an idiot, Gilbert?**

 **GilbertofAwesome: Because I am one, obviously. I lost something and now I can't figure out what the hell I did with it.**

 **LittleStiff has signed on**

 **LittleStiff: Again?**

 **GilbertofAwesome: Oh hallo.**

Gilbert blinked in surprise and glanced towards the hallway. _When did Ludwig get home? I didn't even hear him go by my door. Crap. He didn't hear me tossing stuff around did he?_ Gilbert drummed his fingers on the desk, wondering if he should go ask. Maybe if he didn't mention it, Ludwig wouldn't think to ask. _I could always ask Ludwig to help me find it, but ugh. I don't want to explain to him what it's for._ Gilbert scowled and hit his forehead against the desk again, "Come on, self. What the hell did you do with it?!"

 **AnnoyedRoderich: ?**

 **HappyMatthew: Username changed again…**

 **HeroAlfred: XD**

 **HermitArthur: Oh geez…**

 **Cruz: ._.**

 **HappyMatthew: Oh, the username changed again.**

 **Cruz: …**

 **HappyMatthew: ? One moment, someone's calling me.**

 **HeroAlfred: *eyeroll***

 **HermitArthur: ?**

Gilbert kicked himself away from his desk, and instantly spotted the small bottle laying between his desk and the wall. "Ah!" He quickly scurried under to grab it and grinned triumphantly. "Not sure how it got over there, but hey! I got it!" He popped the top off and glanced at the clock as he swallowed both pills, "It's only an hour late. Oh well. Close enough."

 **GilbertofAwesome: Oh. Never mind, I found it. Stupid thing fell behind my desk.**

 **Roderich: Well that's good.**

 **LittleStiff: How did I change the name yesterday…**

 **HeroAlfred: Seriously…are those two back together again yet?**

 **HermitArthur: I don't think so.**

 **GilbertofAwesome: Push 'em on the train, plane, whatever it was.**

 **Roderich: ... are you still going on about that?**

 **LovisAntonio has signed on**

 **LovisAntonio: Hiiiiiiii~**

 **GilbertofAwesome: Hallo!**

 **LittleStiff: Bruder...my screen name…change it back.**

 **GilbertofAwesome: no.**

 **Roderich: *sighs***

 **HeroAlfred: Hi!**

 **Arthur: Just go to your settings and change it from there LittleStiff**

 **LittleStiff: Oh, thank you.**

 **GilbertofAwesome: You are no fun, Artie.**

 **Arthur: ._. 'Artie'?**

 **HeroAlfred: ...**

 **Cruz: Ten bucks.**

 **HappyMatthew: no. I'm not taking a bet I know I'm going to lose.**

 **Arthur: Oh, there you two are. Oh. One moment.**

 **Roderich: ...**

 **GilbertofAwesome: ? What bet?**

 **Cruz: Nothing.**

 **HappyMatthew: Honestly.**

 **Ludwig: Much better.**

 **GilbertofAwesome: The other one was better. :T**

 **Lovino has signed on**

 **Lovino: Oh my word.**

 **LovisAntonio: Hi lovi!**

 **Lovino: would SOMEONE please get over here? Sometime before something really bad happens?**

 **LovisAntonio: D8 I'm coming now~ *runs off***

 **LovisAntonio has signed off**

 **Lovino has signed off**

 **GilbertofAwesome: What the heck?**

 **Roderich: o_o; Huh? What just happened?**

 **HappyMatthew: Eh? I hope everything's …oh. My phone is ringing again. One moment.**

 **Cruz: not me this time.**

 **Ludwig: I wonder what happened…**

.

.

* * *

Lovino peered around the doorframe and into the kitchen where there was currently a LOUD argument going on. "Seriously…what are they even fighting about now?" Lovino hit his head against the doorframe with a heavy sigh. He looked up when the doorbell rang and wandered over to the front door. "You ran fast."

"Lovi sounded deperate." Antonio waved cheerfully on the front porch, "What's up?"

"Those two." Lovino pointed at Roma and his dad arguing in the kitchen, "Mom has tried just about everything to get those two to stop arguing, this is getting ridiculous!"

Antonio peered into the kitchen, "…It's quiet now."

"Oh, like the silent glares are really any easier to listen to." Lovino grumbled, peering around the corner as well.

* * *

 **.**

 **.**

 **GilbertofAwesome: ...I wonder if one of us should call...**

 **HappyMatthew: Eh, wrong number.**

 **Cruz: **** it.**

 **HeroAlfred: ._.**

 **Arthur: ? Did we miss something?**

 **Cruz: No. I was just swearing at this stupid home education project.**

 **HappyMatthew: oh. That thing?**

 **GilbertofAwesome: what the **** am I even supposed to write on this ******* thing?**

 **Ludwig: I got mine halfway done already.**

 **GilbertofAwesome: ._. What the **** are you writing?**

 **Ludwig: *not saying***

 **Roderich: I'm still working on the border on mine.**

 **Arthur: I don't even want to think about that. I hate family time as it is around here.**

 **HeroAlfred: D: Hang in there, Arthur!**

 **HappyMatthew: He's going to hit you over the head…**

 **Cruz: ...he'll learn eventually.**

 **Roderich: =_=**

 **GilbertofAwesome: Seriously…what the heck am I going to do with this? Besides use it for a Frisbee. *flings***

 **Ludwig: ...Gilbert? what was that loud yell just now?**

 **GilbertofAwesome: Oh like it was my fault vati just walked in the room!**

 **Roderich: Oh geez. *facepalm***

 **Ludwig: And the master of bad timing strikes again.**

 **HappyMatthew: are you talking about Gilbert or Regis?**

 **Cruz: ._. You're on a first-name basis with his dad?**

 **HappyMatthew: …no. Forget I said that.**

 **Cruz: ._.**

 **HeroAlfred: Arthur?**

 **Roderich: Odd. I wonder where he went.**

 **Arthur: Little brother got removed from the room for a minute- Allistor**

 **HeroAlfred: …speaking of bad timing…**

 **Roderich: ...**

 **.**

 **.**

* * *

"Last time I checked, I was free to form my own opinions!" Arthur snapped at the redhead pushing him down the stairs.

"I don't care. It will not kill you to spend some time outside of your room." Reilly snapped.

"That sounds like something mother should be saying." Arthur glared at Reilly in exasperation.

"Fine, take your computer with you." Allistor wandered by them on the stairs, handing Arthur his laptop as he went, "But we can all sit in the same room, still."

 **Arthur: =_=**

 **HeroAlfred: Arthur! :D**

 **Arthur: I hate family time.**

 **Cruz: Have fun with that.**

 **HappyMatthew: Is it really that bad just all sitting in the same room?**

 **Roderich: Ludwig, is Gilbert in trouble?**

 **Ludwig: Just going by the yelling, I would say yes.**

 **Roderich: well then. I suppose I'll just go start making supper.**

 **Roderich signed off**

 **Cruz: Was he just on here to talk to Gilbert?**

 **HeroAlfred: Push him on the train-plane thing.**

 **Ludwig: ._. What? Bruder und Roderich?**

 **Arthur: *now sitting on the recliner chair, thankfully not the couch***

 **HeroAlfred: :D**

 **Allistor has signed on**

 **Arthur: ._.**

 **Allistor: What? I use this thing, too.**

 **HeroAlfred: Virtual family time.**

 **HappyMatthew: Oh, that would be fun.**

 **Cruz: ...*no comment***

 **HappyMatthew: You can join us for ours :D**

 **Cruz: NO.**

 **HeroAlfred: he can stay the heck away.**

 **HappyMatthew: ...**

 **Arthur: That's so polite, Alfred.**

 **Cruz: That's perfectly fine. Can not tolerate tall blondie as it is.**

 **HeroAlfred: :P**

 **AnnoyedMatthew: =_=**

 **Arthur: Oh. It changed.**

 **Cruz: I don't give a **** if you're annoyed.**

 **HeroAlfred: How rude.**

 **Cruz: Why the **** am I getting a text message?**

 **Allistor: Gee, I wonder.**

 **Arthur: =_=**

 **Ludwig: Mein gott, again with all the messages when I'm not looking!  
**

 **GilbertofAwesome: …**** this.**

 **UnawesomeMeanStiff has signed on**

 **UnawesomeMeanStiff: Ludwig, I heard that laugh.**

 **Ludwig: what laugh?**

 **GilbertofAwesome: :P**

 **Arthur: ...**

 **Allistor: Unawesome…mean…stiff? Who the heck is that?**

 **GilbertofAwesome: Vati**

 **UnawesomeMeanStiff: Really? How the heck do I change my name back?**

 **GilbertofAwesome: :T**

 **Arthur: I'm staying out of it this time.**

 **HeroAlfred: Oh! Pizza is here! :D Talk to you all later!**

 **HeroAlfred has signed off**

 **AnnoyedMatthew has signed off**

 **Cruz: =_=**

 **Arthur: Oh you're back.**

 **Cruz: =_=**

 **Allistor: And not in a good mood.**

 **Ludwig: ._.**

 **UnawesomeMeanStiff: How the heck…Gilbert! Change it!**

 **GilbertofAwesome: hey cool, did you know you can block people on here?**

 **Ludwig: ...**

 **UnawesomeMeanStiff: ._.**

 **Arthur: Uh…Gilbert…**

 **GilbertofAwesome: :D If you block someone you can't see what they're saying~ This is awesome~**

 **Ludwig: ...He's going back upstairs.**

 **GilbertofAwesome: Yeah it does nothing for the visual on this end. Or the volume.**

 **Ludwig: There goes the yelling again.**

 **Arthur: Maybe Gilbert is just misunderstood?**

 **Ludwig: ._. As what?**

 **Cruz: *restrains laughter***

 **Allistor: Maybe he just likes attaching nicknames to people. Like someone else likes spending the entirety of the evening and night in his room.**

 **Arthur: =_= This is WHY I do that.**

 **Ludwig: …I don't think…**

 **GilbertofAwesome has signed off**

 **Ludwig: He's coming back.**

 **Arthur: Taken out of context, I would take that to mean he is coming back.  
**

 **Ludwig: ...I wonder if they do counseling for parents and children who don't get along...  
**

 **Cruz: What like marriage counseling for family members?  
**

 **UnawesomeMeanStiff: ... are we all going then? ._.  
**

 **Cruz: ... You went and put an idea in his head.**

 **Ludwig: I don't think that would even work.**

 **Arthur: ...I am not getting involved.**

 **Arthur has signed off**

 **Allistor: ...**

 **Allistor has signed off**

* * *

 **Cruz: …well then. I was honestly expecting a comment from the older one on the therapy thing.  
**

 **Ludwig: Ja, so was I.  
**

 **UnawesomeMeanStiff: ._. Do they have family therapy places? It might help...  
**

 **Ludwig: I'm not looking for one.**

Gilbert covered his eyes with one arm and let out a soft sigh. At least the room was quiet (which of course meant Regis had gone back downstairs). Now it was almost too quiet. Gilbert rolled over and faced the wall, ignoring his computer sitting on the desk. While he was half-tempted to get back online, the thought of both stiffs being online quickly killed any temptation that was lingering at all.

He rolled over again and started searching through his backpack, finally pulling out the needlework frame. The border was already done, he had been doing it all through study hall while talking to Matthew. Gilbert began running the needle back and forth through the frame, slowly starting to form the first letter with the colored thread. At least if the journal wasn't doing anything, this stupid frame would get his mind off of other less awesome crap…not that this thing was awesome by any standard.

* * *

.

Ludwig glanced sideways at Regis, sitting at the opposite end of the couch, tapping silently on his computer. He wasn't saying anything in the chatroom, so he must have been talking to someone else, that or doing work on his computer. Ludwig looked back at the chatroom, which was completely silent. Then again, there were only three people in it, and two of them were sitting on the same couch. Ludwig pulled out the frame he had half-finished and continued to work on the border that was going around the edges. At times like this, it was best to distract the hands and let the mind wander to something else. _'…But I still can't figure out what the heck happened at the beginning of summer.'_

.

* * *

.

Lovino stayed huddled underneath his blanket. At least since it was Fall, he had been able to drag it back out of his closet without being overly warm. The yelling had long since stopped (thankfully), but he was starting to think the silence was a lot worse. Unfortunately shortly after Antonio had left, there had been a loud slamming of the front door, and Lovino was too (NOT scared) nervous to go downstairs and see who left. The answer was rather obvious when he thought about it. Lovino buried himself deeper under the covers, wondering how Feliciano had handled the fight. His younger twin hadn't come out of his bedroom at all while the two adults had been yelling at one another.

Lovino finally threw the blanket back and stalked out of the bedroom. Staying in bed was obviously not going to help anything. He ran down the stairs and peered into the kitchen, spotting his parents sitting at the dining room table. Judging by the phone laying next to his mom, one or both had tried calling Roma. Obviously didn't work, seeing as how Lovino could see the cell phone in question laying on the hallway stand.

"Definitely in one of his worse moods…" Lovino peered out the front door at the ebbing darkness. The streetlights were already lit, and the night air was becoming a lot colder than it had been earlier in the day. "Damn it." Lovino braced himself and pulled on his coat before hurrying out the door, letting it shut quietly behind him. "Why the hell am I the one going after him?!" Lovino cursed to no one in particular and ran down the sidewalk, hurrying off down the street. _'I don't even know where to look, damn it!'_

.

* * *

.

Arthur glanced sideways at his computer which was still showing the desktop background, and had been for the last two hours. He still had yet to sign back online, but more than likely no one else had even gotten back on yet. At least he had yet to receive word from Alfred that he was online. Arthur glanced down at the journal he was holding. Writing in it was proving to do absolutely _nothing._ So far he had achieved no forward steps with Alfred, he had actually started thinking that somehow they had gone backwards. Arthur made a face and tapped his pen against the page.

There was definitely no improvement at home. He could tell that just from them all sitting in the same room (granted that was a surprise in itself, none of them were talking). Arthur drew one straight line down the page, still staring at the list of three that he had been hoping to get somewhere with. _'Well. No point in getting depressed about it now. It's only been two days.'_ Arthur sighed and drew two tally marks next to each item on the list. Did the phrase 'third time is the charm' apply to days of getting something accomplished? If so, he had his work cut out for him tomorrow.

.

* * *

.

Matthew glanced over at Alfred from across the living room. The pizza had long vanished (mostly to Alfred), and now they were all just…sitting. Well, sort of. Alfred was playing a video game of some sort, and his parents were both reading. Matthew was just sitting. Not doing a thing, just sitting. He glanced from his parents then back to Alfred again. The silence was rather…suffocating almost. For some reason he felt like screaming at the moment, just to break the silence, but somehow he got the feeling that wouldn't go over very well.

Matthew swung his legs up onto the couch and continued to watch Alfred play the (violent) video game. That was really the only sound. Just the…graphics. How could he even play that? Matthew winced as whatever monster he had been fighting went splat onto the ground. Okay, now he really wanted to scream. Matthew put both hands over his ears, attempting to block out the deafening silence (which was rather stupid when he thought about it, because wouldn't that just make it worse?).

Fortunately his parents didn't seem to notice, at least not at first. Matthew closed his eyes tightly, pulling himself tighter against the back of the couch, almost burying his face into the backrest of the couch. What was it all of a sudden? They had been talking so much at suppertime and all of a sudden it was…nothing. Matthew was used to nothing being said, yet now…it bothered him. He winced at the loud explosion from the game and bit down hard on his lip to keep the scream from coming out. _'Maybe I should just go upstairs…'_

"Matthew, are you…"

His mother's sentence was timed perfectly with one of the in-game explosions that went off. Nothing against her. Honest. Matthew just let out a loud scream, making everyone in the room jump. Taken out of context, Matthew thought it would have been hilarious. In context...not so much.

.

* * *

.

Cruz tapped the desk, glaring at his silent computer screen. The chatroom had been silent for some time now. Actually it was rather pointless to even be online when no one was talking to one another. He was really debating whether or not to just go to bed early. Cruz slowly got up from his chair, shifting from one leg to another to get them to wake up from having sat so long. He moved to shut his window. For a minute he thought he heard someone screaming, but when he stuck his head out the window, there was only the sound of silence. "Huh. That was odd." Cruz shrugged and shut the window. It was getting entirely too cold to have the window open this late at night.

Cruz moved back to his computer, he still hadn't decided whether or not to sign off. Beside the computer lay his home education project, half-way done already. It wasn't even due for another two weeks. "Guess she wasn't expecting some of her students to be that overly bored." Cruz rolled his eyes. He probably could have done a better job on it, but he didn't really care at this point. It wasn't like they got extra points for making it frilly. Cruz scowled at the thought of him making _anything_ frilly and stalked out of his bedroom. He only glanced down the hall to see that the light he had left on for his parents was still on. _'Still not home.'_ Cruz walked back into his bedroom and glared at his computer again. Sign off or stay on...

.

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* * *

Grammar and chapter combining again.


	21. Similarities between past and present

Moving on. ...This chapter got really long, but that's because I was combining all the parent day chapters into one.

* * *

.

.

 **Timeskip since last chapter: Approx. One month**

 **Today is: Wednesday (Parent Appreciation Day: Parents come to school and walk around with their kid(s), though some will walk alone, and look at the different projects in the classrooms)**

.

.

Antonio stretched his arms above his head with a content sigh. One day out of the school year where they could just relax at school, oh this was paradise... Antonio glanced over at where Gilbert was sitting (sulking). Obviously he was NOT happy with the events of the day. And probably would have stayed home if he had been given the chance. "Cheer up, Gilbert~!" Antonio gave him a playful smile.

"No." Gilbert scowled and promptly stretched his arms out across the table, laying his head down on the top of it. "Why do we even have to be here? Can't it just be a stay-at-home day or something?"

"I like free days. We get extra credit for showing up, and there's no homework or gym class." Antonio continued smiling and poked Gilbert's arm, "Cheer up, cheer up!"

"No, it's not extra credit if it's mandatory that you're present." Gilbert continued scowling, "I don't want to be here."

Arthur wandered into the room and instantly sat down next to Gilbert, "That makes two of us."

"Oh, are you done walking with your parents?" Antonio glanced over at Arthur.

"They went into the home education room." Arthur glared at Antonio, "I am NOT going in there."

"Oh, that's right, they have our quotes for family time displayed on the wall, don't they?" Antonio laughed, "Ahahahaha, I wonder if mom and dad will even recognize mine~"

"Considering each one has a little card with the student's name underneath it, I'm pretty sure they would." Arthur commented, "I saw her doing that yesterday after school."

"...Hm...I wonder if I'm gonna get in trouble for that then." Antonio tilted his head slightly, but perked up the instant Lovino came into the room, "Lovi!"

Lovino pulled out the chair next to Antonio and collapsed in it, "Ugh...so worn out and it's only the start of the damn day."

"Second." Gilbert raised his hand off the table for a second before it fell back down again, "I wanna go back to beeeeed…"

Alfred peered into the room, "Hey guys, come on! Stop sitting there like bumps on a log!"

Gilbert glared at Alfred, "I am going to be a bump for the entire day. Deal with it."

Arthur scowled in response, "Not happening. I'm staying right here."

Antonio, on the other hand, hopped up out of his seat and skipped over to where Alfred was standing, "Come on, Lovi~ Let's go walk around~"

"I just did! I am worn out, I said!" Lovino snapped.

"I can carry Lovi~" Antonio glanced over his shoulder and saw Lovino was already up out of his seat, "Oh you changed your mind~"

"I am NOT being carried." Lovino stalked out past Antonio and Alfred, cursing under his breath.

"Come on, come on!" Alfred tried pulling Arthur out of the chair.

"Leave me alone." Arthur scowled, but ended up getting pulled off his seat anyway since Alfred was (quite a bit) stronger than him, "Are you trying to dislocate that arm?"

Gilbert sighed in defeat and followed Alfred and Arthur out the door, "Don't wanna…"

"I wanna check out the Home Education classroom and see what funny quotes people put up~" Alfred cheered.

"I don't want to go anywhere near there." Arthur retorted.

"Ja, me neither." Gilbert shook his head.

"Let's go~" Antonio cheered, one hand in the air, he promptly pulled Lovino along behind him, not giving the small Italian a chance to object.

"We're outvoted, aren't we?" Arthur glanced at Gilbert.

"No kidding." Gilbert sighed heavily.

"Oh come on you two!" Alfred yanked both of them down the hall.

"You really are trying to dislocate that arm." Arthur grumbled, though managed to keep up with Alfred.

"What part of: I don't want to go, do you not get?" Gilbert snapped.

.

Arthur sighed but walked into the classroom, mostly because of Alfred pushing him in, and spotted his parents (along with Allistor and Reilly) along the wall. "...Do we _have_ to be in here?"

"Oh cheer up." Alfred sulked for a minute before skipping over to the wall, "I didn't get a chance to see what everybody put up on here."

"Probably a good thing." Arthur commented.

Gilbert wandered into the room and glanced up at the needlework displays, "…Oh look. There's mine. Right next to Little Stiff and Mini Stiff."

Arthur edged over and peered up at the three wall hangings, "…There are too many stiffs in this family?"

"Ja." Gilbert grinned, "Totally mine~"

"'Why can't we sit together without arguing?'…Huh. I kinda feel bad for Ludwig with that." Alfred tilted his head slightly.

"What the heck? His and Mini Stiff aren't that much different." Gilbert glanced at Ardrich's, "What's the point of family time if we can't get along? He's the reason I don't even sit with everyone!"

"Maybe he's regretting arguing with you so much." Arthur commented.

"Ja, right." Gilbert rolled his eyes in sarcasm, "Not happening." He moved further down the wall, glancing up now and then for anyone he knew.

Arthur blinked and stood on his tiptoes for a minute, glancing at smaller print that was on Gilbert's frame, "...but I love them anyway?"

"Awww! How cute!" Alfred laughed.

"Huh." Arthur raised an eyebrow and glanced downwards at the row, spotting his right in front of where they were standing, "..."

"Oh~ It's Arthur's!" Alfred followed his gaze, "…" He patted Arthur on the head instantly after reading it, "Poor Arthur."

"Don't make it sound like you're feeling sorry for me." Arthur scowled at Alfred and smacked the hand away.

"Oh, I found Lovi's!" Antonio called, standing a couple feet away from where Alfred and Arthur were.

Lovino smirked at Antonio, "She asked for what we thought of it. She got the damn answer."

"I hate family time...that sounds pretty accurate actually." Antonio laughed and ruffled Lovino's hair, "There, there~"

"Family time is fine when it's not forced?" Lovino read off the frame right next to his own.

"That would be mine." Antonio laughed, "Mom decided to have this brilliant idea of having a family night once a week."

Gilbert edged along the wall back up to where they were standing, "Boy. Some of these are rather hilarious. Oh hey Alfred, you should totally check out what Cruz put on his!"

Alfred hopped down, pulling Arthur along behind him, "What'd he put?" Alfred scanned the wall until Gilbert finally pointed it out.

"Time often spent alone rarely leads to a good school record...well. That fits him perfectly." Arthur started laughing.

"Dude, it sounds like he's blaming his parents for his behavior." Alfred started laughing as well.

"These things are great." Gilbert grinned. He glanced to the left and spotted his parents wandering into the room and instantly the grin turned into a scowl, "Okay, I'm outta here now, later."

Arthur watched as Gilbert made a break for the door and exited as soon as Regis got up to the wall, "...He moves fast."

"Yeah." Alfred nodded in agreement.

.

.

* * *

Matthew edged along the side of the hallway, glancing around now and then for any sign of his parents. So far there was none. Actually there was no sign of anyone he knew for that matter. He sighed and leaned up against a random locker, glancing around once more. One month. One month had gone by already. One month of school gone by, one month since he broke up with Cruz, one month since deciding he should speak up more...actually those last two were related to one another. And now that he thought about it, one month since he had seen Roma.

Matthew tilted his head slightly. He'd gone down to the guidance office several times after that, but Roma was never there. "Well he _is_ just a volunteer…but still…she said she'd let me know when he was in…and nothing…" Matthew hit his head against the locker with another sigh. Of course now that he _wanted_ to talk to Roma, Matthew had absolutely no idea where the other person was at!

"Morning."

Matthew blinked and realized Cruz was standing next to him, "Eh? Hello. …How long were you standing there?"

"About a minute." Cruz responded, "Thinking about something again?"

"Maybe." Matthew blushed a bit and glanced away.

Cruz let out a noise that sounded like a scoff of some sort and shook his head, "Maybe, nothing. You didn't even notice that someone was standing right next to you." Cruz sighed and poked Matthew's shoulder, "Thinking is a bit dangerous for you, isn't it?"

"Not half as dangerous as not thinking." Matthew stuck his tongue out in response and waved Cruz's hand away.

"Usually only dangerous to your brother." Cruz scowled for a minute, thinking of Alfred. He shook his head to get rid of the unpleasant (to him, anyway) thought.

Matthew smiled slightly, "He does think." He commented, in defense of his twin, "He just…speaks before he does usually."

"Noticed that." Cruz remarked flatly and glanced up the hallway, "Waiting for your parents?"

"Yeah. But I haven't seen them yet." Matthew leaned forward and glanced around Cruz, "I wonder where they're at?"

"They might have gotten distracted by one of the food stands set up…" Cruz shrugged.

Matthew made a face and scanned the crowd. "Oh." He blinked. His eyes had settled on a slightly tall male with brown hair, "Roma!" Matthew instantly hurried through the crowd.

"Hey, wait up!" Cruz hurried after him, "Idiot, at least say something before running off!"

"Sorry!" Matthew apologized hastily and hurried to keep going so he didn't lose sight of his old counselor, "Roma! Wait up!"

"Who?" Cruz blinked but kept up behind Matthew quite easily, "Who are you calling to anyway?"

"Someone who's not hearing me." Matthew sighed heavily. He looked up for a brief second, seeing Roma pause where he was at. It looked like he was by himself.

Cruz blinked and glanced over Matthew's head, trying to tell who the blonde was calling for. He didn't see anyone who looked even remotely familiar adult-wise. Student-wise, yes. Some of them were a little _too_ familiar, like soup-head over there. Cruz smirked.

"ROMA!" Matthew yelled, after finally finding his voice to do so.

Cruz jumped at the sudden loud voice from in front of him, as did several other people, "Geez!"

"Sorry!" Matthew's face turned dark red as he caught up to Roma, who had stopped to see who was calling for him.

"Oh! Good morning, Matthew~" Roma smiled cheerfully, "Sorry about that. I kept thinking I heard someone calling me, but I couldn't figure out where the voice was coming from!"

"Since when can you even yell that loud?" Cruz gaped at Matthew for a minute.

"Shut up." Matthew elbowed Cruz, his face still red from embarrassment. He looked up at Roma with an apologetic smile, "You haven't been here in a while!"

"Ah, my apologies. I really meant to be volunteering a couple times a week, but something came up." Roma rubbed the back of his head, looking off into the distance for a moment.

"Eh? Something came up?" Matthew tilted his head.

"Volunteering for what?" Cruz looked at Matthew in confusion.

"Oh, I volunteer as a counselor when they need extra people~" Roma smiled at Cruz cheerfully, the distant look completely disappearing off of his face, "Sorry again!" He ruffled Matthew's hair for a moment, "I'll try and come back more often."

Matthew ran a hand through his hair in an attempt to fix it again, "…I was just worried." He glanced away for a minute, finding a spot on the wall to stare at.

"No need to be worried about me~ I'm fine!" Roma continued to keep the same smile on his face, "And Lovino probably does enough worrying for everybody." He heaved a heavy sigh.

Cruz blinked for a moment, "…the loud yelling guy who's with Antonio? He worries?"

"Of course he does." Roma laughed, "…I just wish it wasn't over me." He sighed again, "I can't seem to convince him otherwise."

"Ehhh…" Matthew stared at Roma for a minute, "…"

"Oh. I have to go, otherwise Lovi will come looking for me again! I'll talk to you both later~" Roma waved and hurried off down the hall, disappearing into the crowd of people.

"…" Cruz turned his head to stare at Matthew.

"Huh. Maybe it was just my imagination…but he seemed rather depressed." Matthew stared at the crowd that Roma had vanished into.

"…" Cruz looked back down the hallway again, "A very energetic depressed. What the hell."

Matthew started laughing, "He's always like that, though!"

"Way too much energy for this early in the morning. That goes for you, too. No more running down the hallway without warning, please." Cruz slapped Matthew on the back of the head.

"Ow. Okay." Matthew rubbed the back of his head, giving a fake-hurt look to Cruz.

"That could _not_ have hurt." Cruz didn't fall for the expression on the blonde's face.

"Does your hand sting when it does hurt someone?" Matthew smiled before hastily ducking out of hitting range.

"You…" Cruz chased after him down the hall, "Get back here!"

"No!" Matthew laughed and ran off with Cruz in pursuit.

.

.

* * *

Roderich walked along beside Ludwig, still trying to figure out how he had ended up walking with him in the first place. Though he wasn't about to admit he had been looking for Gilbert, he supposed Ludwig's company was semi-pleasant (but the silence was starting to bother him).

Ludwig turned his head and glanced behind them for a minute before turning back front again.

Roderich sighed. For some reason, Ludwig kept feeling the need to look behind them every couple minutes or so, as if expecting the crowd of people around them to change, "Who are you looking for?" Roderich finally asked, in pure exasperation.

"Hm?" Ludwig blinked, reddening a bit, "No one."

"Then why do you keep turning your head?" Roderich raised an eyebrow, now slightly amused.

"Ach…" Ludwig's face reddened even more, "No reason."

"Gilbert would be making fun of you right now if he were here." Roderich commented, but kept walking anyway.

"Ja, I know." Ludwig shook his head with a sigh, "If you _must_ know, I was looking for Feliciano."

Roderich blinked in surprise, "I thought he would be with Lovino?"

"Ardrich said he was meeting Feliciano in the hallway this morning, so I doubt it. Lovino and brother don't get along." Ludwig glanced behind them once more.

 _'Is that jealousy I'm sensing here?'_ Roderich smiled to himself, "Well I'm sure we would have noticed if we walked right by them."

"Ja, probably." Ludwig agreed. He still seemed distracted in looking around.

"Why don't you just call?" Roderich glared at Ludwig, seeing him turn his head once more, "You're going to strain your neck at this rate!"

"…I didn't want to interrupt if they were talking." Ludwig's face reddened once more.

"And yet…you're looking for them?" Roderich stopped walking and glared at Ludwig, "Make up your mind and stop being a hypocrite already!" He started walking once more.

Ludwig sighed and walked alongside Roderich again, "I wonder if Vati found Gilbert?"

"He was looking for Gilbert?" Roderich blinked.

"Ja. He told us this morning that he'd try and spend some time with all three of us. He was going to walk with Gilbert this morning." Ludwig glanced around the hall again before realizing what he was doing and quickly looking front again.

"…I assume by your wording that Gilbert knew this, however…" Roderich took out his phone and showed Ludwig a text message he had gotten.

"…" Ludwig read over the text. _Yo, Roddy, I'm hanging out with Antonio, Arthur, Lovino, and Alfred~ You should come join :D_ "Bruder. You're going to get in trouble again."

"He has yet to tell me where they're at." Roderich commented, "I sent a response over a half hour ago now."

Ludwig took out his own phone, but no messages were there. "Well at least vati isn't calling me or trying to ask where Gilbert is."

"He should know it's hopeless by this point. Though that might be why I have not gotten a response." Roderich blinked as he suddenly came to that realization, "If he's ignoring messages thinking they're from his dad."

"You'll be waiting a long time for a response then." Ludwig commented.

"Well then, I guess he doesn't want me to join up with them that badly." Roderich shrugged and kept walking around at the same pace they had been walking at. "I'm certainly not going to go around to every room and try and find him."

"You could try sending a message to one of the other four." Ludwig pointed out quietly.

"Antonio will be pestering Lovino about now, and no doubt Alfred is doing the same to Arthur, if Allistor and Reilly aren't." Roderich commented, "Frankly, I don't think any phone messages are going to be getting anywhere." He took out his phone and updated his status instead.

 ** _Roderich- *is wondering how he's supposed to meet up with someone who does not disclose their location*_**

Ludwig smiled, seeing the update on his own phone.

 ** _Ludwig- *is wondering how Vati is going to react to a certain brother not walking around with him*_**

Roderich laughed, "Are you making sure I don't get a response via status messages, too, now?"

"He responds faster when he's provoked." Ludwig responded, smiling slightly.

 ** _Gilbert- *is thinking Luddy needs to shut up, and Roddy needs to come towards the lunchroom*_**

Roderich covered his mouth as he started laughing again, "Well it's better than saying little stiff!"

"Ja…but…Luddy?" Ludwig blinked at the status, "What the heck?"

 ** _Ludwig: Since when do you call me Luddy?_**

"Oh well. Shall we head to the lunchroom?" Roderich changed directions, pulling Ludwig along behind him.

"Oh, I'm sure Gilbert will love that." Ludwig commented sarcastically.

"Well he should have realized that we were walking together since you knew he wasn't with Regis. And the fact that our status updates were only a couple seconds apart from each other…hm?" Roderich looked down at his phone again.

 ** _Cruz: Some blonde had better stop running so damn fast! So help me if you fall down the stairs!_**

 ** _Matthew: Cruz is really angry, I hope he doesn't catch me~ XD_**

"…What the hell are they doing?" Ludwig blinked at the updates.

"My guess is, chasing each other through the hall…" Roderich let out a surprised yelp when someone ran right in front of him and kept going, soon chased by someone else.

"Oh. There they go." Ludwig laughed.

 ** _Roderich: TWO IDIOTS BETTER STOP RUNNING! YOU ALMOST RAN ME OVER!_**

 ** _Matthew: Oh, was that you? Sorry Roderich!_**

 ** _Cruz: His fault._**

Roderich glared at the phone, "Mental note to self…find Cruz and hit him over the head."

Ludwig smiled and followed Roderich towards the cafeteria, "You can find him later."

"Later." Roderich nodded and kept going.

.

.

* * *

"This is fun!" Feliciano cheered, skipping around the hall with Ardrich following along behind.

"Ja." Ardrich nodded in (mostly) silent agreement. He kept glancing at his phone now and then with the (weird) updates that kept popping up.

Feliciano peered over his shoulder and read the updates, "Aw, it sounds like Matthew and Cruz are having fun! I wonder if they're playing tag?"

Ardrich scrolled up and found Matthew's song-quote-status, "…Somehow I don't think so. It says Cruz is mad."

"Oh. Oh well, Matthew can run fast!" Feliciano smiled cheerfully and kept skipping.

"Oh…Gilbert is outside the cafeteria." Ardrich made a face, "Roderich is going over there…looks like Ludwig might be heading there, too."

"Luddy?" Feliciano peered over his shoulder again, "Where does it say that?"

"Well, it doesn't, but I think he and Roderich are walking together."

Feliciano made a face, "I didn't think they got along that well." He pouted but shrugged it off, "Oh well! Where should we head to…oh hi Grandpa Roma!"

Roma blinked at the sudden sight of Feliciano, "Oh, morning." He waved for a second before slowly letting his eyes fall on Ardrich, "…" The smile remained frozen on his face, along with his hand in mid-wave.

"Oh, you two haven't met, have you? This is Ardrich~" Feliciano cheered, motioning to the blonde next to him.

"Nice to meet…" Ardrich held out his hand slightly but Roma backed up from it, "Huh?"

"Ve?" Feliciano blinked.

"Ahahaha…" Roma let out a nervous laugh, "Nice to meet you, too…" He stepped back slightly.

Ardrich glanced over his shoulder in confusion, then back to Roma, "Huh? Is something wrong?"

"Ah…no…you just look like someone else. Your last name is Beilschmidt, isn't it?" Roma tilted his head.

"Ja." Ardrich nodded, still confused, "You know my brother, Gilbert."

"And also your dad. Excuse me." Roma shot off down the hallway.

"…" Ardrich and Feliciano stood in silence as the adult vanished.

"…I guess they don't get along." Feliciano spoke up.

"…Funny. Vati doesn't seem to have a problem when talking about him." Ardrich tilted his head in confusion, "What the heck?"

"Hm. Grandpa has been acting kinda weird lately the past couple weeks." Feliciano blinked, "I wonder if it has something to do with that?"

"Dunno." Ardrich shrugged, "So where are we going now?"

"Oh…um…" Feliciano tapped a finger to his chin, looking thoughtful.

.

.

* * *

Allistor tilted his head while looking at one of the frames up on the wall of the Home Education classroom. "…I'm sorry I can't talk to you without freezing up?" The redhead glared at the name that was underneath it. "What the hell kind of apology is that, Arthur? At least say it to our faces." He turned his head towards another frame that had a couple staring at it.

"Sometimes the time spent together is better spent in silence?" Mrs. Jones blinked, "Well. That's fine and all well and good, Alfred, but…Matthew screamed last time. Maybe it was too quiet?"

"We can be together in silence. The heart speaks more than words do?" Mr. Jones raised both eyebrows, "You're the one who screamed, Matthew." They both sighed heavily before shifting down the line, glancing up at different quotes other people had done.

Allistor smirked slightly. Just like the idiot twins to say something similar without even trying.

Roma tilted his head, reading over Lovino's wall hanging and laughing a bit. His eyes glanced to Antonio's, which was so similar to Lovino's, that he started laughing again. "I wouldn't trade family time for anything!' Well. Feliciano got sentimental." Roma smiled and looked around at some of the other quotes, "…and looks like he's one of the only ones who did."

"No matter where it is spent, family time is rarely hated?"

Roma turned his head slowly to look at the reader.

"How are Gilbert und Roderich even friends? They have such opposite views." Regis shook his head in disbelief, not noticing the person standing to his immediate right.

Roma backed away a couple paces before hastily walking out of the room, making it out without Regis noticing him, "Run away..."

Allistor, not noticing the antics of the man he had been standing next to, opted to take a cell-phone picture of Arthur's frame and post it on the status board.

 ** _Allistor: Hm. It'd be nice if apologies were said in person rather than on a wall hanging, don't you think?_**

He wandered around the room for a bit longer, waiting until he got a response, which didn't come until after he had stepped out into the hallway.

 ** _Arthur: You clearly didn't read it then._**

 ** _Allistor: Obviously I did if I posted it on here, brother. Apologies are so much more meaningful when said to the other person's face, hm?_**

 ** _Arthur: You're not getting one to your face. Deal with it._**

 ** _Allistor: I shall._**

There wasn't a response after that. Allistor smirked slightly and headed off down the hall, keeping his eyes open for any sign of his little brother. In the meantime, might as well meet up with Reilly and his parents for some more walking around. There was an event in the auditorium planned later, for all parents and students to attend. Apparently there was going to be some videos of some kind showing. It promised to be amusing moreso than anything else was today.

* * *

.

.

Arthur swore quietly at the hidden threat in Allistor's last status and put his phone away. Ignoring Alfred's sympathetic pat-on-the-back, Arthur leaned forward to glance at Gilbert, "When is Roderich coming?"

"Dunno. He said he would be here. But that was before the you-almost-ran-over-me status at Mattie." Gilbert shrugged, "And if that's him with Little Stiff, then we're going to have an issue."

"Oh, the more the merrier?" Arthur teased.

"Nein." Gilbert sulked.

Alfred grinned and waved to Roderich and Ludwig, "Heeeeyyyy~"

"Hallo." Ludwig did a short wave in response to Alfred's over-enthusiastic one and glanced at Gilbert, "…Vati?"

Gilbert responded by sticking his tongue out at Ludwig, "Don't know where he is, nor do I care. Roddy, why'd you bring Stiffy along?"

"He was walking with me at the time, it would have been rude to just leave him by himself." Roderich commented.

"…Stiffy…" Ludwig blinked before sighing.

"Not that much different from Little Stiff." Arthur commented.

"Nope." Gilbert grinned, "Shorter to say though."

Arthur took out his phone, feeling the slight buzzing motion go off again.

 ** _Allistor: Oh where, oh where could my brother be?_**

Alfred blinked, "…Uh…is he talking about you?"

Arthur put his phone back in his pocket, ignoring having ever read the status update, "I haven't the faintest idea."

Gilbert made a face, "Ja, right, he's talking about you, und you know it." He had taken out his phone as well and blinked when a new status popped up, though the scowl came back in a hurry.

 ** _UnawesomeStiff: My name changed on here, too I see._**

 ** _UnawesomeStiff: Now where is Gilbert? I could have sworn I was walking with him first this morning. *sarcasm*_**

 ** _Gilbert: I know you're being sarcastic, Vati. Leave me alone._**

Gilbert glared at Ludwig, the threat being passed in silence over what would happen if Ludwig told Regis where they were currently at.

Roderich shook his head, "Still didn't have that conversation…"

"Nope~" Gilbert grinned momentarily before glancing at his phone again.

 ** _UnawesomeStiff: ._. Where the **** are you at?_**

 ** _Gilbert: Somewhere you're not :D_**

 ** _Cruz: Hey. This sounds familiar._**

 ** _Matthew: Yeah it does._**

 ** _UnawesomeStiff: What? What sounds familiar?_**

 ** _Matthew: The conversation you and Gilbert are having. Sounds very much like a text convo between me and Cruz last year._**

 ** _Cruz: Rather strange similarities._**

Gilbert rolled his eyes, "The conversation was hijacked. Works for me." He laid his phone next to him on the floor and let out a quiet sigh of relief…the feeling didn't last very long.

 ** _UnawesomeStiff: Gilbert, where the heck are you at? Nice needlework frame by the way. Too many stiffs in the family. Cute._**

 ** _Gilbert: Ja. Big stiff, little stiff, und mini stiff. Too many stiffs._**

"…You should probably not provoke him…" Ludwig spoke up quietly, watching the status updates go back and forth on his phone.

"I don't give a damn if he's feeling provoked or not." Gilbert grumbled in response.

 _'…His dad didn't read the small print on Gilbert's frame…'_ Arthur looked over at Gilbert, noticing the albino seemed slightly annoyed. Either that was at the status argument, or that his dad hadn't read the whole quote.

Gilbert glanced at the status update from Regis for a moment.

 ** _UnawesomeStiff: Will you stop calling us variations of Stiff?_**

He pocketed his phone without sending in a response and just leaned his head back against the wall once more. At least sitting here on the floor was semi-comfortable. A cushion would probably make it more so.

Roderich sat down next to him, not saying anything, just sitting there. It took a few minutes of awkward silence before Ludwig sat down a foot or two away from Gilbert and Roderich, slightly in the middle of the hall, but people could walk around anyway.

.

.

* * *

Arthur moved around inside the crowded auditorium, trying to either locate someone he knows that he can sit with, or find somewhere to sit. Alfred was apparently right behind him, so it would probably help to find two seats, rather than just one. Which would make this a bit more difficult…or not. He glanced around and spotted two open seats at the end of the aisle, "Hey, Alfred, there's two."

"Sweet!" Alfred bounded over and hopped into one, wasting absolutely no time in doing so.

Arthur shook his head at the still-energetic-blonde and sat next to him. "How the bloody hell do you have so much energy when it's already after three?"

"I didn't use it at all today!" Alfred laughed, glancing around the room, "I wonder where everyone else is sitting~"

Arthur looked around as well, leaning forward slightly, "I don't see any of them." He leaned back in his chair again and peered behind him, trying see through the crowd that was moving down the aisle.

"Huh. I hope they knew what time it was." Alfred leaned back in his seat again, peering at the screen that was pulled down on the stage. "I wonder what kind of movie this is going to be?"

"I asked the principal the other day. He just started laughing." Arthur made a face, "So I'm not entirely sure what kind of video this will be."

"Oh great." Alfred sunk in his seat, "And our track record of good vs. bad presentations is against us."

"Yes, well, you never know, it could be something interesting." Arthur shrugged.

"And you're not even in student council this year to tell me if a paper came through about this thing or not~" Alfred sighed heavily, "No help at all..."

"Well. I'm sorry for deciding to devote my time to my schoolwork this year, instead of papers that kept coming in signed _Resident Hero."_ Arthur hissed Alfred's pen name.

Alfred responded by sticking his tongue out at Arthur, "I'm totally a hero."

Arthur buried his face in his hands and shook his head, "You are such an idiot."

"Aw, it's okay Arthur!" Alfred patted Arthur on the back with a grin, "There, there~"

Arthur shot him a glare and leaned back in his chair again, turning his gaze towards the stage. What kind of movie indeed.

.

.

* * *

Antonio laughed at Lovino's annoyed expression. Currently seated in the front row (and having been there for some time now), Antonio poked his boyfriend's arm playfully, "Cheer up!"

"We've been sitting here for over a damn hour." Lovino scowled, ignoring the poking finger.

"But we got great seats!" Antonio smiled cheerfully. He glanced up at the stage. This was definitely the perfect spot to watch the video…whatever it would be about. "I wonder what they're showing."

"In other words, this could be the most awful spot to be sitting." Lovino commented, "So help me if this is a documentary of some sort."

"Nah. It'd have to be something exciting for parent appreciation day, right?" Antonio laughed, "Think positive!"

"I'm positive we're going to regret sitting in the front row." Lovino grumbled, sinking in his seat.

"Not that kind of positive." Antonio pouted for a moment, before poking Lovino in the side, causing the Italian to sit up straight all of a sudden, "Yay!"

"Don't do that." Lovino scowled.

"Cheer up then." Antonio smiled cheerfully.

Lovino sighed heavily, "You're optimistic about everything…"

"Of course!" Antonio laughed.

.

.

* * *

Ludwig blinked. Somehow he had ended up sitting with Gilbert and Roderich in the auditorium, though he couldn't quite remember why they had all sat in the same row. It was a miracle they even found three seats next to each other. And now…

"Gott…when is this thing going to start." Gilbert repeated (for what Ludwig could swear was the fifth time now; though Gilbert denied ever having said it).

"Be patient." Roderich sighed (also for the fifth time).

Ludwig looked at the two. Gilbert was sitting in between himself and Roderich, not that he minded…but he was surprised Gilbert hadn't complained about sitting next to him. Maybe they were getting more tolerable of each other? Ludwig glanced at the movie screen, "What is this even going to be about?"

"No clue." Gilbert grumbled, "Better be something entertaining before I fall asleep."

Roderich looked disdainfully at how Gilbert was sitting: with his shoes propped up on the back of the seat in front of him, not that the students sitting in front of them minded, apparently. "Gilbert, at least put your shoes down."

"Why? He's not complaining." Gilbert motioned to the head in front of him, "Shush."

"Don't shush me." Roderich glared at Gilbert.

 _'Maybe it would be quieter if I sat somewhere else.'_ Ludwig leaned on the armrest away from Gilbert. He glanced forward a couple rows and blinked, "Oh. Vati and mutti are down there."

Gilbert turned his head towards Ludwig and gave him a scathing glare, "Did you _have_ to point them out?"

"Sorry?" Ludwig blinked, "It was more of an observation said out loud by accident."

"Bad mood?" Roderich asked.

"No shit." Gilbert retorted.

Ludwig and Roderich both gave him wide-eyed stares at the sudden harsh comment. Ludwig looked away rather quickly and found a spot on the wall to focus on instead. This was definitely going to be a not-good spot to sit.

Roderich could have easily spat something out in response, but he just crossed his arms and looked front again, seething quietly to himself. _'That was absolutely rude.'_

 _'Bruder und Roderich are never going to board that train at this rate…why am I even thinking that? Gilbert would kill me.'_ Ludwig let out a quiet sigh. Those moods of Gilbert's really should come with warning signs.

* * *

.

.

Matthew looked back and forth between the two people he was sitting in between. Cruz was on his left, however…Cruz's ex (Souphead also known as Maria) was sitting on his right. This was not going to be good. And obviously these two were not anywhere close to getting along…and it wasn't just the insults going back and forth that was telling him that. Body language (clenched fists in Cruz's case) was another factor. Sitting in between these two was not the smartest career choice here.

"Well you don't have to be so damn rude all the time!" Maria snapped.

"Oh sure, look who's talking!" Cruz retorted, "I remember last year perfectly well!"

Matthew leaned back in his seat, humming softly, trying for the most part to block out what they were saying to each other.

"I remember _someone_ dumping a bowl of soup on my head in the lunchroom!" Maria snapped.

 _'Souphead. That would make sense.'_ Matthew nodded inwardly to himself. One more note for the list of why he shouldn't annoy Cruz. Didn't want to become another Souphead incident. The thought almost made Matthew start laughing, but that wouldn't be a smart idea at all.

"And I can remember _why_ that someone dumped the soup on your head. As well as why the same someone hit you in the next class!" Cruz snapped.

"Oh, sure, bring that up. Look, you moron…" Maria started, she didn't finish.

"Don't call me a moron." Cruz scowled.

 _'Temper is going to an all-time high.'_ Matthew thought inwardly. Not going good.

"I am not taking back a single thing I said last year, so you can get the heck over it." Maria gave a somewhat evil-smile towards Cruz.

Cruz's eyes narrowed, and Matthew could swear he could see the aura of anger around Cruz. _'Oh great. Going to be stuck sitting in between two people in a fight.'_

"You are _never_ calm, you're unbelievably rude, and your behavior is going to tank as soon as you and blondie here have a breakup." Maria snapped.

"Blondie?" Matthew spoke up finally. _I guess the rumor mill didn't reach her that we already broke up._

"Excuse me?" Cruz asked.

"You heard me." Maria flipped her hair over one shoulder.

"Blondie?" Matthew repeated, "I have a name."

"So, you don't even know mine." Maria rolled her eyes.

"Souphead?" Matthew tilted his head, keeping an innocent smile on his face.

Cruz instantly burst out laughing.

"Ugh, you two are two of a kind I swear!" Maria scowled, "Invisible boy." She stuck her tongue out at Matthew.

"…" Matthew stared at Maria for a minute, now _he_ was the one feeling angry, which was saying something even for him.

"Don't call him that." Cruz had stopped laughing instantly, "How the hell is it his fault if people are too caught up in their own damn cliques to even notice that someone else is walking nearby them?!"

"Invisible boy and Rage-boy, I guess it's true that opposites attract." Maria waved around her hands with a flair of mock-emotion.

It's a good thing Maria was sitting on the aisle seat. Matthew shoved her as hard as he could out into the aisle and onto the floor, he wasn't even sure how the female had gotten past the armrest, until he noticed it was still folded up.

Cruz leaned over Matthew to look at Maria on the floor, "…Well. We're not so opposite."

"I am not invisible!" Matthew snapped, "And anger isn't the only emotion Cruz shows, if you weren't so caught up in your own stupid world, maybe you would actually see that!"

Cruz leaned back in his chair, smirking at the faces the two of them were getting from the students sitting around them, "What the hell are you all looking at?"

"I am reporting you for that!" Maria snapped, picking herself up and stalking away from Matthew.

Matthew shrugged and leaned back in his seat, "Thought she was going to claw me."

"That would have been amusing to see her try." Cruz smirked, "Good thing that armrest was up."

"Yeah. I didn't even notice it was until now." Matthew glanced at it for a moment before turning his head back towards the screen, "At least there isn't a distraction now for when the movie comes on."

Cruz laughed in response, "Well, I'm sorry I was distracting you!"

"No problem. Distraction is gone." Matthew smiled cheerfully.

* * *

.

.

Feliciano bounced up and down in the seat next to Roma, "This is going to be so much fun to watch!"

Roma watched him bounce up in seat a couple times before looking over at his son, "Where does he get all that energy from?"

"I have no idea."Alexander, sighed heavily. "Feliciano, please stop bouncing up and down in your seat. You're going to annoy the people sitting around you."

Roma looked back to Feliciano, barely noticing Ardrich sitting next to his grandson over the top of the bouncing head, "At least save your energy for later, so you don't disrupt the view of other people behind you…"

Feliciano pouted for a moment but stopped bouncing, and proceeded to swing his legs back and forth at a rapid pace instead.

"Restless leg syndrome?" Roma turned back to Alexander.

His son just gave him a look that clearly said I-Have-No-Clue-Where-He-Got-That-From. Roma laughed and turned his eyes back front again. He leaned forward slightly and glanced up and down the rows that were around them, but then leaned back again.

"Who you looking for?" Feliciano asked, scanning the seats for anyone who looked familiar.

"Oh just a classmate of yours. It doesn't look like he's sitting near here though." Roma commented quietly.

The lights dimmed once, then twice, before remaining off.

"May I have your attention?" The principal called, tapping on the microphone several times, "I understand we have a full room here, but if the talking and overall chatter would please go to a minimum, I would appreciate it, thank you."

Mr. Smith waited until the talking had quieted enough so that he could be heard easier over the crowd, "Now. As you all know, we have a festival coming up a couple weeks from now. I am allowing some rules to be bent, allowing students to stay overnight to help with preparations. However! Keep in mind, that there WILL be teachers also staying in the building. This is not a time for goofing off, partying, or anything of the sort!"

"What's wrong with a small party?" Roma blinked.

"DAD!" Alexander looked at him, appalled, "At least don't say that in front of Feliciano and his friend! That's a bad influence!"

"Huh?" Roma tilted his head in confusion.

"But a party sounds like so much fun…" Feliciano pouted, "Don't you think so, Ardrich?"

"Uh…" Ardrich looked at him, not quite sure what to say, "…Sure?"

* * *

.

.

"Partying?" Gilbert asked, dumbfounded, "Why would he even say that?"

"That's just going to give people ideas." Roderich huffed, "Honestly."

"Why did our parents have to come to this?" Ludwig blinked.

* * *

.

.

"Can we leave now?" Lovino asked.

"Oh cheer up. They said it would be a movie. The movie hasn't even started yet." Antonio put an arm around Lovino's shoulders and brought the male closer to the armrest that was separating them.

* * *

.

.

"Partying." Cruz repeated.

"Eh. That sounds like fun." Matthew laughed.

Cruz stared at him with a shocked expression, "Staying overnight at the school to have a party?"

"You don't think so?" Matthew tilted his head.

"Depends on what music is playing and if the parents would ever get called." Cruz grumbled, sinking in his chair a bit, "I am not looking to get grounded for the next quarter of a century here."

Matthew started laughing.

* * *

.

.

"Oh right. I can see what people will be doing already. Blasting music and doing just about everything he's telling us isn't allowed." Arthur commented.

"Party~" Alfred cheered, "Arthur's gonna stay overnight, too, right?"

"I will not." Arthur glared at him, "Schoolwork, remember?"

Mr. Smith continued his speech, "Now! As many of you may have heard, some of your parents, grandparents, stayed overnight in this same school building!"

"Oh my god. I don't want to watch parents partying." Arthur buried his face into his hands.

"Oh this is gonna be awesome!" Alfred burst out laughing.

* * *

.

.

"Oh no." Roma buried his face in his hands.

"What? Wait, what, they never caught us, did they?" Alexander paled, his wife just busted up laughing.

"Oh this is going to be funny!" She continued laughing.

* * *

.

.

"Ja. Like vati ever had a day of partying in his life." Gilbert commented.

"I'm sure there was an occasion or two." Roderich looked at him.

"Nein." Ludwig shook his head, in full agreement with Gilbert, "Mother maybe, but not father."

"And so, I shall leave you with this warning. Just because there are no teachers present, does not mean we don't know what you're up to. For all you alumni in the room, consider this your punishment for those parties so many years ago now." Mr. Smith walked off the stage, "Play video."

"Oh I cannot wait to see this." Roderich started laughing.

"It looks like vati is looking for a way to get out of his seat." Gilbert commented.

"Odd. I wonder if he is in here after all?" Ludwig tilted his head.

.

.

* * *

"Wait what?" Lovino gaped at the credits that appeared on the screen, "They're showing us our parents in school breaking rules? Oh my word."

"The school board is gonna hear about this one, no doubt." Antonio watched with sparkling eyes, "I wanna see if my parents are in here!"

.

.

* * *

"Yay!" Feliciano cheered, "Ve, hey Ardrich, we should keep an eye out for our parents~ I'm sure mom and dad will be in here!"

"Oh no." Alexander looked up and down the aisle, "How the heck do I get out of here?"

"You're not saving face even if you abandon the room." Roma said flatly, "And I'm in no better of a situation considering he said grandparents."

"Oh this will be a nice trip down memory lane." Amelia, watched the screen with a smile (both Roma and Alexander just stared at her in disbelief).

.

.

* * *

"Parents partying. Right. Like hell mine are gonna be on here." Cruz commented.

"You never know." Matthew elbowed him, "I'll help look~"

( **A.N. – dance music playing on your computer or mp3 player would help for this part.)**

The beginning credits vanished off the screen as a narrator's voice (sounding exactly like Mr. Smith had recorded his own voice), started speaking.

 _"We start off on our tour of the school, investigating this loud music coming from room 207."_ The door slowly creaked open on the video and the camera moved in at just enough angle to see the entire room.

The room was filled with about twenty teenagers all moving in time with the music, though one or two stood by the wall, just watching the crowd out in the middle of the floor.

Lovino just gaped in silence, "Please tell me…"

"Whoa! Can your grandpa still dance like that?" Antonio started laughing, "Roma's having fun!"

"Oh my god." Lovino buried his face in his hands, "This is going to scar me for life."

* * *

.

.

"Well. This is embarrassing." Roma sunk in his seat, his face turning red.

"…" Alexander just patted him on the top of his head, silently showing sympathy, due to his wife and son having laughing fits around them.

* * *

.

.

"Huh. That's Roma." Gilbert blinked, "Oh und…" Gilbert's face went blank.

Ludwig raised both eyebrows, "Uh…"

"Isn't that your dad dancing with him?" Roderich tilted his head.

"OH MEIN GOTT." Gilbert pointed at the screen and just burst out laughing.

Ludwig watched as Gilbert almost fell out of his seat because he had completely doubled over from laughing so hard, "Hm. I don't think I've ever seen him laugh this much."

"Neither have your parents, judging by the stares we're getting. Or would you call that a glare?" Roderich smiled at Ludwig.

Ludwig looked down at Regis and Myla and smiled, "I would call that a glare from vati."

"Ahahahahaha! Vati's actually dancing at a party, oh mein gott~" Gilbert managed to speak out through his laughter, still doubled over.

* * *

.

.

"Oh. I didn't know Gilbert's dad and Roma were going out." Antonio just stared at the screen, "I kinda feel like I should look away, but this is rather funny."

"Well. That's just going to get added to the list of things I would have rather not known." Lovino muttered.

 _"Well now."_ The narrator cleared his throat a couple times, _"I think I have seen just about enough in this room. No upstanding for rules in here. And what kind of music is this even?"_

The camera slowly edged out of the room and back into the hallway. It shook for a moment as if the person holding it had shook his head before moving down the hallway.

The screen faded to black before the voice came back over. _"We skip forward some class years, because some people actually LISTENED to the rules…"_

* * *

 _._

 _._

Roma just kept his face buried in his hands. Alexander put an arm around his dad and patted him on the shoulder in sympathy, "Feliciano, stop laughing."

"I knew that was going to come back to haunt me at some point…" Roma moaned.

"Aw, dad, I liked your dancing~" Amelia laughed, leaning forward a little, "That was fun!"

* * *

.

.

Myla patted Regis on the shoulder, "There, there. Let it go."

"Nein. He's laughing at me." Regis scowled, referring to Gilbert who still had yet to sit up, "I can hear him from here!"

Myla put a hand over her own mouth, also trying to restrain laughter, "Well it was a different side of you he hasn't seen before."

 _"…Okay apparently I lied. There must have been more than one party that year."_

* * *

 _._

 _._

"Oh great." Roma looked up at the screen, "Now what…oh. Oh." He repeated himself and turned red almost instantly.

"…" Alexander made a face at the similar dancing as well as music, "Don't you all ever listen to anything else while partying?"

"Oh, there's mom." Amelia spoke up, referring to Roma's wife.

"…Ve? Your dad's not in this one." Feliciano pouted at Ardrich, whose jaw was still dropped from the last dance scene.

"I can't even believe he was in the LAST one!" Ardrich yelped, "What the heck!"

"If it's any consolation, we were a little drunk." Roma sighed.

"Oh that helps." Alexander stared at him in disbelief, "There most certainly was not alcohol at any of the parties I went to!"

"You were at a party sober?" Roma tilted his head.

"…" Alexander looked away.

"You're in troubleeeee…" Amelia teased her husband.

 _"Okay. Definitely skipping that one."_ The screen faded to black again and reopened at the school again. _"Alright. Now this is a different class. Going to investigate some music and we find…"_

* * *

.

.

"Hey. Mom and dad." Alfred perked up, "Awesome! They totally went to a party!"

"…it'd be a little humourous to see my parents in one of these parties, but seeing as how they didn't even attend school in this country, I suppose that won't happen." Arthur sighed, "And I can't see dad at a party anyhow. I can certainly see mom at one."

* * *

.

.

"See, there's your parents." Matthew pointed to the screen.

"I'm just going to say I've never met them before in my life." Cruz hid his face in his hands, "What the hell are they even doing."

"…Dancing?" Matthew tried, but the tiny laugh escaped, "My parents are there, too!"

* * *

.

.

Gilbert, having finally regained his composure, sat up just in time to see Roderich's mom go dancing by the camera lens and promptly had a fit of laughter again.

"Oh my word." Roderich's jaw dropped, "She was actually at something like this?!"

"Well. I think our parents' reputation got a major dive." Ludwig commented, "I'm not going to be able to keep a straight face now. Everytime I see vati, I'm going to start thinking of that song that was playing."

"Should totally start singing it." Gilbert laughed, "It would make him so mad~"

* * *

.

.

"Oh. There you go." Roma pointed at the screen, "…and again. You're sure making the laps on the dance floor."

"I know." Alexander said without even looking up at the screen. He was mimicking his father's earlier actions and now had his own face in his hands.

"Memory lane is right. Oh my word." Amelia watched with one hand over her mouth, "Well. Definitely not drunk."

"Why can't I go to a party?" Feliciano pouted, "You all went!"

* * *

.

.

"There's your mom and dad!" Antonio laughed.

"I have never met those people in my life." Lovino said hastily, "And another thing for the list of things I wish I had never known!"

"That must be a long list." Antonio patted him on the head cheerfully.

 _"And of course…we wrap it up with some of the parties from THIS class."_ The narrator announced loudly as the scene changed again. _"Can't let the parents take all the embarrassment, now can we?"_

Antonio watched students moving around on the screen, "There's Lovi~"

"What?" Lovino stared at the screen, "I don't even remember this!"

"Oh there's me, too!" Antonio perked up, "…it looks like we were going out without even knowing it." He tilted his head.

"Oh my god." Lovino buried his face in his hands, "Grounded for a century."

* * *

.

.

"Dude." Alfred blinked at the roomful of students, "Where is this even at? It's not the school is it?"

"No. This is someone's house…oh. There's Gilbert." Arthur blinked, "…With…Roderich."

"Huh. They were getting along fine then. This is like our freshman year right?" Alfred laughed, "They're totally dancing~"

"…Was there alcohol at this?" Arthur paled, "Roderich actually danced with Gilbert?"

* * *

.

.

"I don't even remember this." Roderich's face turned red, "What the heck?!"

"Huh. I don't remember it either." Gilbert blinked, "Whose house was this?"

Ludwig looked at the two, leaning away from them slightly, "Nice dance moves."

"Shut up." Gilbert scowled at him, "Stiffy."

* * *

.

.

"Aw. I'm not here." Feliciano made a face, "Oh but Lovino is! With Antonio even!"

"…" Alexander leaned forward, squinting, "When was this?"

"Huh. I wonder." Roma tilted his head, "Oh. Freshman year maybe? I recall hearing about an underage house party getting busted by the police for having alcohol."

Alexander and Amelia both turned their heads to stare at Roma in disbelief.

* * *

.

.

Regis turned in his seat to look back at Gilbert and Roderich, raising one eyebrow.

"I don't even want to hear it from you." Gilbert called, "Your dance moves were much worse than that." He motioned to the screen, a smirk coming across his face.

Roderich's face went noticeably red and yanked Gilbert back in his seat again.

"Let it go." Myla patted Regis on the arm, shaking with laughter.

Regis stared at her in disbelief, "Did you know he went to this?"

"Yeah. See? I'm right there." Myla pointed at the screen, "Ta-da!"

"…" Regis stared at the screen blankly.

"Huh. I didn't know mutti was there." Gilbert blinked.

"Well then. I'm sensing we're going to be having family night whether we want it or not tonight." Ludwig commented, sinking in his chair, "Great."

Roderich huffed and sunk in his own chair, "Stupid principal."

* * *

.

.

"Oh look. There's grandpa." Feliciano started laughing again.

"Eh? I don't remember being at this one at all." Roma stared at the screen, "Huh…was I already drunk when I got there maybe?"

"Dad!" Alexander gaped at him.

"Oh she's cute. Who's the albino you're with?" Amelia leaned forward, squinting at the screen.

"…That's my mother." Ardrich stated flatly.

Roma let out a noise that sounded like a yelp and instantly buried his face in his hands again, simultaneously sinking in his chair.

"Just blame it on the alcohol, dad." Alexander sighed and started patting him on the shoulder again.

* * *

.

.

"…Alfred is at this party." Matthew whispered.

"We're not. Thankfully." Cruz grumbled, "Would not be living that one down."

"…Oh. Alfred and Arthur were on the plane already."

Cruz raised both eyebrows, "The lip-lock tip you off?"

"Mhm." Matthew nodded.

* * *

.

.

"WHOA!" Alfred recoiled from the screen, "Dude! I don't even remember this!"

"What the hell?!" Arthur yelped.

* * *

.

.

((Timeskip of a few hours))

 **Antonio: Well. Let's hear it for family nights :D**

 **Lovino: No. I hate family time.**

 **Gilbert: Mein gott, someone save me D:**

 **Arthur: Someone should buy stock in earplugs.**

 **Alfred: Oh my wooooord DX Can someone tell mom and dad that it was just a party?!**

 **Matthew: Just a party with alcohol. I'm not getting involved.**

 **Cruz: Serves you right, Jones!**

 **Roderich: So how many are grounded?**

 **Ludwig: Vati is such a hypocrite…**

 **Ardrich: Why do I have to listen to this?**

 **Feliciano: Ve~ I wasn't even at the party! Why am I in the lecture?!**

Arthur stared out the window, determined to completely ignore his family members that were in the car. And why the hell was this car ride taking so damn long? It was a fifteen minute _walking_ distance! Now it seemed like a car ride was taking an eternity. He glanced down now and then to his phone, which was chiming with status updates from his friends. Apparently some of the lectures had started in the car. Arthur's gaze travelled up to the mirror and saw the crease lines on his father's forehead. Obviously his dad was attempting to calm down before attempting to say much of _anything_. Allistor on the other hand…

Arthur's eyes narrowed as he glared at the redhead sitting right next to him. Why had he gotten stuck sitting next to this person anyway? Granted it was probably better than Peter (who was sitting to the right of Reilly), he was really wishing his older brother would shut up…sometime this century.

"I didn't even know there was a party for students to attend! I can't believe I missed it!" Allistor commented.

 _Screeeeeeeeeeech!_

The car ride ended rather abruptly after that comment. Arthur rolled his eyes and opened his door, kicking it open so he could get away from Allistor faster. Grounded, most definitely grounded. There were multiple slams of the car doors, but the driver's side door was definitely the loudest (and the one that shook the car the most).

"Calm down, Aedan." Victoria sighed and patted her husband on the shoulder, "Deep breaths."

"He hasn't even said anything on the whole way home, what makes you think he's not calm?" Reilly asked, though a hint of sarcasm could be detected on his voice.

"Probably because he's still counting to ten." Allistor grinned and poked the back of Arthur's head, indicating the comment was more directed as a warning at him moreso than a response to Reilly.

Arthur rubbed the back of his head and glared at Allistor in response before heading for the front door. Like it was really his fault! Considering the behavior of the other students at that party, they should be glad he was only dancing (and kissing). Arthur's face turned hot at the last thought that popped into his head and hastily pushed open the door before the others reached the porch.

"The last thing I heard of that party, was that it was supposed to be an overnight stay at the school for a festival!" Aedan snapped as soon as he made it into the kitchen. "What kind of festival was that?!"

"How the heck should I know?!" Arthur retorted, just as loud.

"Oh now calm down you two." Victoria sighed, "We can all sit here at the table and talk about this in a nice civil manner and tone of voice." She indicated to the chairs. Upon seeing no one moving, she added with some force, "NOW."

Arthur rolled his eyes again but sat in the nearest chair and glared at the wall. He was really wishing he had earplugs at this point. To his relief, Allistor and Reilly both ended up sitting at the opposite end of the table, though that meant he had Peter sitting next to him (which was more of a curse).

"Do I have to listen to this?" Peter sighed in an annoyed tone, "I'm not even in high school yet!"

"Consider this a warning for the future." Allistor scowled.

"Quite." Aedan nodded stiffly, "Now then…"

Arthur let out a long sigh. He could always tell when there was about to be a long-winded lecture when his dad started out with the words "now then". It didn't matter WHO the lecture was directed at or who was in trouble, they were all stuck listening to it. Apparently Allistor had picked up on that as well, because he instantly hit his head against the table, much to Reilly's amusement.

"I'm sure we can all agree that some of the behavior on that videotape was downright awful. And obviously not approved by any school rules." Victoria started out, folding her hands neatly on the table.

"You covered my eyes, so I wouldn't know." Peter grumbled.

"I wonder why." Aedan glared at Peter, "Hush."

Arthur drummed his fingers on the table, keeping a bored and annoyed expression on his face. How the bloody hell was it his fault anyway? He didn't even remember the damn thing!

"No overnight preparation for a festival is to have alcohol. Absolutely none. And under no circumstance do I even want to hear that one of my children has been drinking alcohol." Victoria gave a glare to all four of her sons.

Arthur made a face. If he didn't remember anything from the party, didn't that mean he had been drinking at some point?

"What's wrong with a glass of beer now and then?" Allistor blinked.

"You're underage, that's what!" Aedan snapped.

"And your point?" Reilly raised both eyebrows, "We used to drink all the time in Ireland."

"This isn't Ireland." Victoria sighed.

"Obviously." Allistor commented.

Arthur clenched his fists underneath the table, noticing his dad's gaze shift away towards the wall. _If you miss it so much then go back there already!_

"Now hopefully a certain someone at the table did not partake in the drinking at all, even if he did with the dancing part of it…" Victoria commented.

"Just say my bloody name." Arthur snapped, "And like I would really dance with that git when I'm sober."

Allistor burst out laughing, "Aye, you gotta remember, mum, he did kiss the guy. You really think little brother would do that when he's not drunk?"

Arthur heard the audible sighs coming from both his parents and looked upwards towards the ceiling. Definitely going to be grounded. And apparently Allistor had no faith in him when it came to showing emotions. How rude, Allistor shouldn't even be talking, he had no luck on the romance front either.

"Okay then. Everyone at this table who took part in drinking any kind of alchohol while they were living under this roof and underage, is grounded. How's that?" Victoria smiled cheerfully.

"For how long?" Reilly stared at his mother with a blank expression on his face.

"You've gotta be kidding me." Allistor hit his head against the table again.

"I'm going to go with two weeks here." Victoria nodded her head, after glancing towards her husband, who was still looking away from the table, "That should be plenty time for you three to reflect on what happened."

"How am I supposed to reflect when I don't remember it?" Arthur asked.

There was a definite sound of muffled laughter coming from Reilly and Allistor, because both of them were now doubled over. His mother, however, was not amused, at all. Arthur continued staring at her, deciding inwardly that he probably should not have said that.

"And for you, it will be three weeks." Victoria said flatly, "Since you drank that much apparently."

"Well excuse me." Arthur grumbled, leaning back in his chair.

"And let that be a lesson to you for being truthful." Allistor commented, smirking cheerfully at his parents.

"Obviously someone else wouldn't object to being grounded for three weeks." Victoria glared at Allistor.

"No, I really don't care one way or another. Not like I go anywhere after school." Allistor rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair again, though Reilly was snickering beside him at his twin's punishment.

.

.

* * *

Lovino rested his chin on the table, glancing back and forth between his parents, his grandfather, and Feliciano (who was probably the _only_ person not in trouble). "Can we get this over with instead of sitting in silence?"

Roma tapped a pencil up and down on the table, having picked it up from the counter as he passed by it while entering the house, and waited for someone else to start the conversation. "I believe we're experiencing what is known as thinking-before-speaking."

"Uh-huh." Lovino rolled his eyes and sighed. His phone was silent now, it must be that the other lectures had started already, that or phone privileges had been yanked as a result of partying (which Lovino barely remembered at all, and he most certainly did not remember Antonio being there). "Can we just summarize it to the being grounded portion of it?"

Roma quickly covered his mouth with his hand to keep the laughter from escaping, and quickly received a glare from Alexander in response. "Well you two are the ones who are supposedly upset about this whole thing, though you have really no room to talk whatsoever." He tapped the pencil on the table again.

Lovino sighed. Sometimes it just seemed like Roma was doing that on purpose. Was he _trying_ to make Lovino's dad snap? It certainly seemed to be working so far.

"I was not underage when I was drinking." Alexander forced a smile in response.

"At least not on that tape." Roma commented, tapping the pencil again.

"Okay, so before we get into another argument having nothing whatsoever to do with the topic on hand," Amelia quickly spoke up before her husband could retort, "There was drinking at the party that we did not know about, but there were adults there…"

" _Drunk_ adults." Alexander corrected.

Roma started humming quietly and looked up towards the ceiling, finding a stain to stare at with curious eyes.

Lovino made a face, "Uh, just saying here, I don't really remember much what happened, I definitely don't remember drinking anything that even resembled alcohol."

"How do you know what alcohol looks like?" Amelia stared at him with a blank expression.

"It's in the fridge sometimes~" Feliciano spoke up, swinging his legs back and forth underneath the table.

"Oh, well, I suppose there could have been punch or something that was spiked maybe." Amelia glanced at Alexander.

"Someone at that party should have been charged for that, then." Alexander grumbled.

"Aaaaand who was pressing charges exactly? The students who don't remember the party at all?" Roma tilted his head curiously.

Amelia sighed, "Okay, so there are a couple issues here. But since it was an unknowing consumption of alcohol…I think we can agree that there really shouldn't be a punishment for it." She glanced at Alexander for a moment before looking back at the other three at the table.

 _'I'm not getting grounded.'_ Lovino blinked. _'Seriously?'_

"I didn't even get to go to the party…" Feliciano pouted and stretched his arms out across the table.

"Consider yourself lucky." Lovino snapped, "You also don't have a video with you on it doing crap you don't even remember doing!"

"He has a point. That would be punishment enough anyhow." Alexander sighed, "So I guess we will let it drop this time, however…" He glanced at Roma, "You were drunk before you got there?"

Lovino glanced at Roma, "Your turn."

"Shush." Roma smacked Lovino before waving a hand dismissively at Alexander, "Getting a drink is not an unusual circumstance for me. Even if I had gotten one before ending up at the party, using the same logic as the spiked drink already there, not my fault I was completely drunk by the end of it."

"He has a good point." Amelia tilted her head.

"I know he does." Alexander sighed.

"And I'm not about to hear a lecture from my son on drinking." Roma added flatly.

Amelia quickly put a hand over her mouth and looked away, trying to hide her laughter.

"Daaaaad…" Alexander started.

"I don't want to hear it~" Roma put both hands over his ears.

Lovino buried his face in his hands and heaved a heavy sigh. _'Why does it seem like everyone in this damn house is so childish?!'_

* * *

.

.

Ludwig watched his father stomp around the room with an expression of slight worry on his face. So far his dad was yelling at pretty much anything that moved, though hadn't directed his rage at anyone else yet. Yet. Ludwig made a face and glanced at his older brother, who was idly rolling a pencil across the table. He glanced back at his mother who was watching her husband with a worried expression.

"Why do they even have those videos?!" Regis continued storming around the room, still cursing at anything that was moving.

"Well, they did say that it was them getting even at us for breaking school rules." Myla pointed out, trying to put a cheerful expression on her face.

"They couldn't just give us a damn detention?!" Regis continued on.

Gilbert rolled his eyes and slouched back in his chair. His eyes rolled lazily over to Ardrich, who was sitting at the opposite end of the table, unfortunately for him on the side where Regis was stomping back and forth.

Ardrich looked up as Regis passed behind him again. "Can I just go upstairs…since I wasn't at the party at all?"

"Shush." Myla whispered, holding a finger to her lips, "Let your father vent a bit."

 _'A bit?'_ Ludwig raised an eyebrow. He would have said something aloud but a loud crash distracted him, as well as everyone else. He glanced to the right towards where Gilbert was…or _had been_ sitting. Apparently he was now on the floor.

"Gilbert! Are you okay?" Myla hurried past Ludwig and peered over the table.

"I'm fine." Gilbert stood up, swaying in one spot for a moment before picking his chair up from the floor, "Stupid chair fell over when I was leaning on it."

Regis scowled and continued pacing back and forth, "Und why was Roma at that party during the freshman year anyway?"

Myla peered over at Regis, "He was supervising of course, same as I was. We got a little carried away after the whole 'spiked drink' thing though."

"Obviously." Regis continued scowling, "Was he sober even before he got there?"

"Oh he can have several drinks and not be affected and you know it." Myla commented, waving her hand in the air for a moment.

Regis rolled his eyes and paused in his pacing. He crossed his arms and glared at the wall. He didn't have a retort to make and resorted to pacing around the room again.

Ludwig watched as Gilbert laid his head down on the table and sighed. The whole 'rant' their dad was going through was certainly becoming rather tiring to watch. _'What's the point of us sitting here again?'_ Ludwig looked at his parents again.

"Can we go upstairs _now_?" Ardrich asked, annoyance clearly laced in his voice.

Regis turned and glared at the three sitting down at the table, "I _never_ want to see or hear any of you being involved in a party like that again."

Ludwig resisted the urge to retort at all. The bad mood was practically radiating off of Regis now, arguing would be completely useless. _'Never mind the fact that I wasn't at the party.'_ Ludwig just nodded and stared off at a random spot on the wall.

"I wasn't even there!" Ardrich complained, but quickly closed his mouth at the harsh glare he got in response, "Fine, whatever."

"Ja, ja." Gilbert spoke up, barely audible. His voice sounded muffled since his head was face-down on the table now.

"Gilbert, are you feeling-" Myla started.

"I'M FINE." Gilbert snapped before she could finish the sentence.

Myla let out a soft sigh and moved into the kitchen, "Anyone want supper?"

"Light one." Regis wandered into the kitchen to help, his bad mood seemingly dissipating into the air.

"Geez. What the heck was dad's problem?" Ardrich grumbled.

"Just be quiet." Ludwig buried his face in his hands and let out a frustrated sigh, "Don't make it worse."

Gilbert got to his feet and peered in the kitchen, "I'm just going upstairs. Not hungry." He wandered past Ludwig and started up the stairs, dragging his feet.

Ludwig looked up as Myla put a plate in front of him and Ardrich and sat down herself with a plate of her own. Regis walked right by all three of them and headed up the stairs after Gilbert, carrying two plates.

"Bruder said he wasn't hungry?" Ludwig looked at his mother in confusion.

"Yes, well, your father is in one of his stubborn moods." Myla munched on the sandwich she had made herself.

Ardrich lifted the top slice of bread to discover the leftover sausage from the night before and started munching on it, choosing not to make a comment. Food was food.

Ludwig looked at his own plate for a minute before shaking his head. He started eating slowly, waiting for the usual signs of argument upstairs that followed when either Regis or Gilbert was in a bad mood. Surprisingly, there was only the sound of silence.

Gilbert hugged his pillow and half-glared at the intruder in his bedroom. "Said not hungry." He buried his face in his pillow again.

"I heard you. However." Regis set the plate down on the desk next to Gilbert's bed, "You've lost weight recently."

"Thanks for pointing that out as if I didn't know that already." Gilbert grumbled, his voice coming out muffled through the pillow.

"So eat something." Regis pulled out the desk chair and began eating his own sandwich, waiting for the lump on the bed to move.

Gilbert lifted his head enough to glare at his dad before burying his face in the pillow again. "Go away. Not hungry."

Regis looked upwards towards the ceiling, dropping his sandwich on the plate. "You know, you're doing a fine job of looking like you're starving yourself."

"Don't care." Gilbert retorted. He rolled over onto his side to face the wall, scowling into the pillow he was still hugging.

"Are you feeling sick?" Regis asked.

"No." Gilbert snapped, "You und mutti need to quit asking that stupid question."

"One of these times we might actually be hoping to get a truthful answer." Regis leaned back in the chair, spinning his dinner plate around with one hand, eyes staying on Gilbert.

"I am not feeling sick. How many different ways do I have to say that?" Gilbert rolled over onto his back and glared at Regis, "Seriously, go away and take your unawesome conversation with you."

Regis sighed in annoyance, but didn't get up from the chair, "Sitting here until you say something other than go away."

"I don't think you would be very happy with anything else I say." Gilbert grumbled, covering his eyes with his arm. "Shoo."

"Shoo?" Regis raised an eyebrow, still not moving.

"Ja. Means leave."

"I know what it means, und I said no."

Gilbert lifted his arm long enough to shoot another glare at Regis. He stared at the ceiling for a minute before just rolling over and redirecting his attention to the wall. "Stubborn dummkopf."

"Better than unawesome stiff." Regis sighed.

Gilbert snickered through his pillow, "Stubborn stiff~"

"Nein!" Regis raised his voice in annoyance.

Gilbert grinned to himself before closing his eyes and pulling his pillow closer.

"Gilbert?" Regis asked.

He paused a minute before realizing he wasn't getting a response. Regis stood up and placed one hand on Gilbert's shoulder, shaking him gently. "Did you fall asleep?" He leaned over Gilbert and peered at his son.

Still no response.

Regis sighed heavily and sat back down in the chair.

* * *

.

.

Matthew looked back and forth between Alfred and his parents. At least the yelling wasn't directed at him, but he still felt bad for Alfred. _'This is really getting out of hand…they were at a party similar to the one Alfred was at, so they really have no room to talk.'_

"Well I would have told you guys if I had remembered it! It's nothing but a haze in my memory! And I didn't even know there was alcohol there to begin with!" Alfred was in mid-protest when Matthew tuned back to the conversation.

"It was supposed to be a class get-together to get ready for the festival the following day! There shouldn't have been any of that there!" Mr. Jones argued.

"What do you want me to say?!" Alfred raised his voice, "I can't remember everything that happened that night, and I don't know what was set up when we got there and what was set up while we were there!"

"…" Matthew hesitated. He was unsure whether or not trying to calm them down would even work. It would probably be best to just stay out of it, but…Matthew looked at Alfred again. He was looking rather agitated if anything.

Their father just let out a heavy sigh and focused on a part of the wall instead of Alfred.

"If you didn't remember anything from the night before, why didn't you tell us in the morning when you woke up? For all you know, something bad could have happened!" Their mother started off where her husband had left off.

"Obviously since someone was there _video-taping it_ , nothing bad happened. Otherwise they would have stepped in by that point." Alfred retorted, "And how exactly am I supposed to say that I don't remember something? For all I knew, I was sleeping the entire time!"

 _'He has some pretty good responses to these.'_ Matthew continued moving his head back and forth with each response being thrown across the table. It was almost amusing…if they weren't practically screaming at each other.

"Why would you think you were sleeping if you were supposed to be doing set-up?" Mr. Jones asked.

Matthew blinked a few times. Apparently they had decided to just skip right over the logic Alfred gave them and present him with another question instead. _'…if they're going to ground him, they could just save their voices and just say that.'_

"Right, like falling asleep when I'm supposed to be doing something isn't a common occurrence." Alfred snapped, "Especially at night."

"That doesn't-" Mr. Jones started.

"Can you stop." Matthew spoke up finally.

Alfred looked at Matthew with an expression of pure shock on his face. His parents had almost the exact same expression. Apparently none of them were expecting him to say anything, that or they had forgotten he was even sitting there.

"All you three are doing is yelling at each other…can't you just skip the entire argument? You two were on those videos, too, and I distinctly remember grandpa saying you two were 'model students', so it doesn't seem like you told him either." Matthew looked over at his parents, trying not to lose the nerve that had come out of nowhere.

Alfred perked up a bit at his brother sticking up for him and looked across at his parents, who were both now looking very uncomfortable with the situation.

"And don't start with that 'it's different' line." Matthew interrupted before either one of them could speak again, "No it's not. The only thing that changed is the generation."

Alfred and Matthew both sat in silence while their parents exchanged glances with one another. At this point it was impossible to tell what they were thinking. Alfred clenched both hands in his lap, waiting to see their reaction with what Matthew had said (hopefully it would get him out of being grounded).

Matthew leaned back in his chair, waiting for the yelling he was almost-positive was coming. Speaking out in the middle of a lecture was something that never paid off for Alfred, and doubtless would get him in as much trouble as Alfred was now, regardless of any logic the two brothers had on their side. _'Hopefully the sudden nerve I had to speak up doesn't appear in the middle of class when I_ don't _want it.'_

Alfred perked up a bit when his father let out a resigned sigh. If the past was any indication for whenever there was a disagreement, then maybe…

"Only because your brother defended you." Mr. Jones commented. The unsaid warning-threat was left hanging in the air for both of them to interpret on their own.

Alfred wasted no time in bolting up the stairs, with Matthew close behind him. "Oh man!" He turned and instantly hugged Matthew the instant they had gotten to his bedroom door, "You totally got me out of trouble!"

"You're welcome." Matthew jabbed him in the side, "And don't expect me to do that again. I don't even know where that came from!"

"Grateful for it no matter where it came from!" Alfred grinned, "Thanks, Mattie!"

Matthew slipped into his own bedroom and shut the door quietly, making his way slowly over to the computer. _'Well…who knew I could stop an argument…'_ A small smile came across Matthew's face and he slumped down in his chair, a small burst of giddiness coming over him for a minute. _'At this rate, I'll achieve my goal of talking out more in no time!'_

* * *

.

.

Roderich drummed his fingers on the table. Lectures he could sit through without a problem. There was always a lesson to be learned, and he had full respect for his mother to sit through one. However, uncontrollable _laughter_ he could not sit through. "Any time you're done!" Roderich snapped.

"I can't believe you were dancing with Gilbert~" The laughter continued despite Roderich's protests.

"I am not sitting here listening to this!" Roderich stood up and stormed out of the room, "So help me when I see Gilbert tomorrow…" He strangled the air in front of him and stalked up to his room, slamming the computer mouse angrily to get the computer to wake up.

 **Roderich has signed on**

 **HappyMatthew: Eh, hello! Are you all done talking with your mom?**

 **AnnoyedRoderich: There was no talking to be had. She's still down there laughing.**

 **HappyMatthew: …O-oh…sorry.**

 **Cruz: …I guess there's no point in asking why she's laughing. The dancing?**

 **AnnoyedRoderich: I swear when I see Gilbert tomorrow I am going to strangle him.**

 **HappyMatthew: …if you were both drunk… it's not really his fault is it?**

 **Cruz: Some people just need a way to vent.**

 **HeroAlfred has signed on**

 **HeroAlfred: What's up people!**

 **Cruz: Not grounded.**

 **HappyMatthew: eh…no.**

 **HeroAlfred: Mattie totally talked me out of getting in trouble!**

 **Cruz: Why would you do that…**

 **HappyMatthew: I was getting tired of the yelling…**

 **AnnoyedRoderich: Any sign of anyone from the Beilschmidt household?**

 **Cruz: No**

 **HappyMatthew: None of them have signed on at all today**

 **AnnoyedRoderich: right. Well I imagine they won't be signing on if they're grounded. Though Ardrich I thought would be online. Not that he's one I want to talk to.**

 **Cruz: I'd rather talk to one of the other two. Still want to punch the short guy's lights out.**

 **HappyMatthew: …still annoying in class?**

 **Cruz: Of course he is.**

 **HeroAlfred: Arthur's not getting online apparently. He's grounded, and being forced into family time.**

 **HappyMatthew: …one person grounded…**

 **Lovino has signed on**

 **Lovino: Geez. Finally.**

 **AnnoyedRoderich: Oh, how did it go at your house?**

 **Lovino: I think grandpa was in more trouble than I was thankfully.**

 **Cruz: How did that work?**

 **Lovino: Grandpa told dad he didn't want to hear a lecture from his son, and that pretty much ended the conversation.**

 **Cruz: …**

 **HappyMatthew: um…**

 **AnnoyedRoderich: Well then. More power to him.**

 **Lovino: I give it ten minutes before I hear them arguing again.**

 **HeroAlfred: I guess I'm gonna turn in then if Arthur's not getting online…before mom and dad change their mind. Night!**

 **AnnoyedRoderich: Good night.**

 **Lovino: Bye…**

 **HappyMatthew: oh, goodnight Alfred!**

 **HeroAlfred has signed off**

 **AnnoyedRoderich: Well I guess I should go, too. Try and sleep and ignore my laughing mother.**

 **Lovino: …Laughing…**

 **AnnoyedRoderich: I can sit through a lecture, but forget about being laughed at.**

 **AnnoyedRoderich has signed off**

 **Lovino: Why was she laughing?**

 **Cruz: Because of dancing with Gilbert apparently.**

 **HappyMatthew: It was pretty funny.**

 **Lovino: I'm going to not make a comment.**

 **Cruz: Yeah since we weren't there, we can make comments.**

 **HappyMatthew: I think we were two of the few who weren't! That party certainly was crowded!**

 **Lovino: I don't even remember it…**

 **.**

 **.**

* * *

Antonio stared at the wall, his head laying on the table, while the lecture kept going. So far it covered something about personal safety, and some underlying hint about leaving if alcohol is at a party. Not like he remembered the party. Could have saved him a year and a half of teasing Lovino. Antonio let out a long sigh as the lecture continued. If it was possible to get blisters on his ears, he was no doubt going to have red ears in the morning.

"And as happy as we are about knowing you're having fun with social gatherings, this was taking it a bit too far."

Antonio's eyes flickered briefly to his mother, "You never went to a party?"

"Well I did go to a couple when I was in college, but I was of age and alcohol wasn't that big of a deal at those parties…"

Antonio grinned as his dad promptly buried his face in his hands, "At least I was at one where I knew people, that counts for something right?"

"Well, yes, you were with Lovino…obviously…"

Antonio hit his forehead against the table again. _'Cannot believe I didn't remember that.'_

"And there were adult chaperones…though they looked a little drunk themselves…"

Antonio's shoulders shook with the laughter he was suppressing, "Oh…that was great watching Roma dance like that…"

"I can't believe he was even dancing…" Antonio's mom made a face.

"I can." Mr. Carreido raised an eyebrow, "It's ROMA. Regis, however, took me by surprise. I will admit that one."

"That was so funny…" Mrs. Carreido giggled before bursting out into fits of laughter.

* * *

.

.

Roderich rolled over on his bed, about to welcome sleep, until his phone started going off. "Damn it!" He sat up and grabbed the small device from the floor, "Who is calling at this hour?!" He glared briefly at the caller ID before registering the number to Gilbert and answered (despite the temptation to throw the thing at the wall), "Hello?"

Roderich listened to the speaker on the other end for a few minutes, before any anger he had been feeling went flying out the window. He stumbled out of bed and ran out the door, not bothering to change back into his daily clothes. "Damn it!" Hanging up the phone as he went, Roderich's bare feet skidded across the hallway floor, grabbing a coat off the hook as he passed by it, barely avoiding tearing a hole in the fabric.

"Roderich, what's going on?" His mother peered out of the kitchen but Roderich was already out the front door.

"Going out, don't know if or when I'll be back tonight, sorry!" Roderich yelled, running down the sidewalk. At least he had managed to put on a pair of slippers before running out the door.

"Roderich!" His mother yelled, "You'll catch a cold!"

Roderich only waved an arm and kept running, not bothering to stop or look back at all.

* * *

.

.

Grammar updates and a bunch of chapters combined. Some dialogue added here and there, but not much.


	22. Desperate times

Moving on.

* * *

.

.

Matthew's hand moved out from under the blanket long enough to hit his alarm clock before moving back under again. He waited a few minutes before finally pushing the comforter off of himself. Sitting up, Matthew squinted at his alarm clock, eyes widening a bit when the red numbers read it was ten after seven. "Wait, what?" Matthew bolted out of bed, grabbing the first shirt and jeans he found before yelling down the hall, "Alfred! Alfred wake up!"

"Whaaaat?" Alfred peered out of the room, bedhead still evident.

"Did you see the time?" Matthew stared at him, "We're late!"

"…" Alfred looked over his shoulder at his alarm clock, "…Crap."

Matthew watched Alfred vanish from the doorway before running hands through his hair, skipping the hairbrush completely. "Laaaaate!" He ran out of his room, hastily making his way down the steps as fast as he could without falling down them. Spotting a note on the table, Matthew discovered his parents had left for work early that morning, "Of course you did." Matthew scowled a moment before pulling on his shoes and attempting to run his hands a couple more times through his hair while Alfred came charging down the stairs.

"Craaaaaap!" Alfred bolted past him, yanking on both shoes and grabbing his bookbag, "Do we have something we can eat on the way?"

Matthew pulled open the fridge door and winced, "Nothing in here."

"Fruit bowl it is." Alfred grabbed an apple and darted out the door.

"Eh, I'll wait until lunch." Matthew grabbed a drink instead and ran after Alfred, "Wait up!"

"I can't believe we're late!" Alfred cried, munching on the apple as he ran.

"Think we can make it to the school in five minutes?" Matthew glanced at his watch as he caught up to Alfred.

"No." Alfred made a face, "Not even gonna happen."

"No chance at all? Can we stop running then?" Matthew gasped for breath a couple times, "I'm going to sleep through all my classes at this rate!"

"The later we are the worse of a punishment we're gonna get!" Alfred protested, "No way! …We better not to have run in gym class today."

"Don't even make me think about that." Matthew winced and kept running, managing to keep pace beside his brother.

"I wonder if we're the only ones late…" Alfred tilted his head.

"I seriously doubt we're the only two students in the whole school late, but we're certainly going to be the latest at this rate." Matthew sighed, "Why didn't my alarm clock wake me up earlier?"

"Mine didn't wake me up at all! I forgot to set it!" Alfred burst out laughing.

"Alfred!" Matthew punched him in the shoulder, "That's not going to help you at all then!"

Alfred grinned and rubbed his shoulder, "Yeah yeah I know."

They both ran around the corner and spotted the school coming into sight, "Almost there!" Matthew perked up a bit.

"Good." Alfred tossed the apple core into a trash can as they were running by, not particularly caring that it belonged to a private residence.

Matthew bolted into the schoolyard and up the front steps, finding the front doors to be (thankfully) unlocked still. "Come on!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Alfred sighed and followed Matthew into the lobby, "Anyone in sight?"

"No…but we're still going to have to tell our teachers why we're late." Matthew sighed.

"Yeah well, we'll deal." Alfred grinned and yanked him down the hall towards their math class, "Roderich is probably gonna give us the most disapproving glare ever."

"I'm more worried about the glare our teacher is going to give us!" Matthew whimpered. They stood outside their classroom for a minute, catching their breaths from running.

Alfred peered into the window at the class, "Looks like the teacher is in the middle of a lecture…and I don't see Roderich."

"Oh, he must not be here today…that or he's late." Matthew thought about what he had just said, "He's not here."

"Yeah, Roderich is never late." Alfred made a face, "Okay. We're going in."

"Right." Matthew braced himself.

Alfred pushed open the door and grinned at the teacher before skipping past her to his seat in the back of the room, "Morning~"

"Do you two have a reason you're late?" Mrs. Rose looked from Alfred to Matthew who had sunk into his seat.

"Failure with an alarm clock." Matthew gave a sheepish smile, quite thankful for his seat near the door. At least he didn't have to cross the entire room.

"Mhm." Mrs. Rose just nodded her head and turned to mark their names on the paper behind her, "Well, now that Alfred and Matthew have been kind enough to join us, continuing on with what I was saying…"

Matthew sunk in his seat a little. He took out his phone when it vibrated and looked at the message updates.

 **Alfred: Oh man. Laaaaaaaaaaate.**

 **Cruz: Did you two just now get here?**

 **Matthew: At least we didn't miss first class entirely.**

 **Antonio: XD You guys are great! Did you get in trouble?**

 **Alfred: Not yet.**

Matthew smiled and put his phone away, paying more attention to the lecture that the teacher was giving now.

* * *

.

.

Cruz continued jogging around the track, glaring at his phone now and then when it would go off. Fortunately the teacher didn't notice that he did have his phone out, because the teacher was too busy yelling at other students for walking. "He seriously needs to shut up." Cruz scowled and put his phone away again. He glanced over his shoulder, but still didn't see any sign of Ludwig or Ardrich. "Huh…either they're running late, or they're both not here. That's odd." Cruz stared forward once more and continued running.

"Come on people! I want to see some hustle!" Mr. Howard yelled.

"Then you get out here and run on this damn track!" Cruz yelled in response.

So far he had been lucky that the teacher hadn't realized it was him yelling back. Any other teacher would have known it right away.

"And so help me whenever I catch the person backsassing me!" Mr. Howard threatened.

"Backsassing?" Cruz crossed over the starting line, "Who the hell is a backsasser?"

"Much better. Now I want to see some hustle out there!" Mr. Howard yelled.

Cruz's eyes narrowed as he turned his head over to where their gym coach was standing.

"Let it go Cruz…" Someone said as they passed by him, "Just let it go!"

"I will gladly let my temper go." Cruz smirked.

"Not that kind of let go!" The blonde protested, "You're going to get in trouble!"

"Like hell I care." Cruz snapped, "Keep running, Mathias."

"There are going to be some very unhappy people in a minute!" Mr. Howard yelled.

"Are you referring to yourself and your evil twin?" Cruz called.

"That does it! Whoever is backsassing me, get over here!" Mr. Howard raged.

"I don't have to run anymore!" Cruz grinned at Mathias, who was gaping at him in shock.

"You're not seriously going to…" Mathias started.

Cruz waved and jogged off the track, making his way over to where the teacher was standing, "For your information, I do not call it sassing. I call it annoyed with your damn attitude."

Mr. Howard glared at him, "And you can take yours to the office!"

"Sure. Not like the principal isn't used to seeing me by now." Cruz smirked at the teacher and gave a little mock-wave before wandering into the school building.

He burst out into laughter as soon as he got into the locker room, "There has got to be an easier way to avoid running those damn laps." Changing into his regular outfit, Cruz left the locker room and made his way through the empty halls towards the office, still smiling slightly.

 **Cruz: heigh ho, heigh ho, to the office I go.**

 **Matthew: Eh? What happened?**

 **Cruz: I was sassing the teacher.**

 **Alfred: Awesome. Let me know what mood he's in. I'm probably going to be down there.**

 **Matthew: If you don't start paying attention when the teacher calls on you, you will be!**

 **Cruz: XD**

Cruz grinned and put the phone away, pushing open the door to the office. He waved at the secretary before plopping down in one of the empty chairs.

"Now what?" The secretary sighed.

"I was sassing the gym teacher." Cruz smirked.

"You and goodness knows how many others." She knocked on the door to the office, "Mr. Smith, Cruz is here." She stepped back out again and waved him in.

"Thank you, Miss Kia." Mr. Smith's voice called from inside.

"You're welcome." Miss Kia sat back down at the desk and continued with whatever paper she had been working on.

Cruz walked into the office, kicking the door shut behind him, "Morning."

"Couldn't you hold your temper long enough to make it past your first class at least?" Mr. Smith looked at Cruz.

"No." Cruz took a seat in one of the chairs in front of Mr. Smith's desk, "Otherwise I wouldn't be sitting here already."

"Right. Well now what?" Mr. Smith sighed.

"I was apparently sassing Mr. Howard." Cruz shrugged, "He calls it sassing, I call it annoyed with his attitude."

"Oh for…" Mr. Smith buried his face in his hands, "You get fed up with anyone's attitude."

"I have a low tolerance level for crap throwing." Cruz retorted.

"Clearly." Mr. Smith sighed.

* * *

.

.

Antonio leaned across Lovino's desk, attempting to make the Italian smile. So far: not working. Lovino was still glaring at him. "Smiiiiiiiiiile, Lovi~" Antonio grinned.

"No." Lovino grumbled, crossing his arms. Fortunately Feliciano had decided to sleep in this morning after the night before, which meant he didn't have _two_ annoyingly-perky people to deal with, "It's too damn early."

"But I wanted to see Lovi." A childish pout crossed Antonio's face, but the glare from Lovino only intensified.

Lovino scowled in response, "You just saw me yesterday!" His eyes roamed around the room, looking for something to focus on other than the idiot in front of him. The wall hangings were still up on display, and he would rather not stare at those. Lovino's gaze drifted to the kitchen instead where he could see Miss Summers stocking items into one of the refrigerators.

"I know, but that was yesterday. And my parents were lecturing me for so long, so I need someone to make me forget the painful ear blisters~" Antonio looked at Lovino hopefully.

Lovino leaned forward, "You don't have blisters on your ears." He jabbed Antonio in the forehead with a finger and leaned back again.

"Feels like it." Antonio pouted and rubbed both ears with his hands. He sighed and laid his head down on the desk.

Lovino rolled his eyes at the sign of defeat in front of him and raised a hand to pat Antonio on the head in a mock-sympathetic motion. "There, there."

Antonio laughed (much to Lovino's annoyance) and grinned up at Lovino, "So besides the whole not-remembering-it thing, what'd you think of the videos?"

"I'd rather not think anything about them. I'd rather forget I ever saw it." Lovino opened his journal at random and flipped through several well-worn-out pages.

Antonio stared at the number of pages that Lovino had filled, "Is that the journal from Home Education?"

Lovino glanced at him for a moment, scowling, "So what if it is? She said to write how we were feeling." He found a page that was still half-blank and pulled a pencil out of the coil of one of his other notebooks.

"I don't think I filled up quite that many pages…" Antonio looked in his own journal and looked at the four pages he had written on, "And mine aren't even complete pages…"

Lovino stared at the differences between his journal and Antonio's, "…Yeah well. You don't have a therapist for a grandfather." Lovino began tapping the pencil against the table.

"So what are you writing about?" Antonio leaned over and peered at the page Lovino was on. He was half-expecting Lovino to pull it away or push _him_ away, but to his surprise, neither Lovino nor the notebook moved.

"…" Lovino looked at the page, "At the moment, just school." His face reddened a bit.

"You cover other stuff in here?" Antonio lifted up a random number of pages and peered further towards the front of the journal to try and read from where he was sitting.

Lovino sighed and went to flip back to the page Antonio was attempting to read. His eyes scanned over the first few lines and he slammed the pages back down, "Not that one."

"Hm?" Antonio blinked a couple times, "Not that one? I saw Roma's name though~"

"Yeah, not that one." Lovino scowled at Antonoio, "Better yet, don't read this at all." He hugged the journal to his chest and glared.

Antonio just laughed, "It's okay, Lovi~ I don't really write anything in mine… it's just stuff about school that I get annoyed or mad about sometimes… though there is the occasional entry about L-O-V-I~"

Lovino's face turned dark red, "Don't write about me, idiot!" He hit Antonio over the head with his journal, "Damn it! Stop writing whatever you're writing about me!"

"Whaaaaat, I wasn't writing anything bad!" Antonio shielded his head laughing.

* * *

.

.

Arthur turned his head to look at the empty desk next to him, "…" He looked back towards the front of the room and made a face. _'Either yesterday's movie-lecture really didn't go well, or something happened.'_ Arthur tilted his head, thinking for a moment before pulling out his phone.

 **Arthur: Is Ludwig or Ardrich here?**

 **Cruz: No.**

 **Alfred: HIIIIIII! Roderich's not here either. :I**

 **Matthew: That's odd…**

Arthur tapped his phone on the desktop a couple times, thinking to himself while the messages continued responding to each other.

 **Alfred: Is Gilbert here?**

 **Matthew: It would seem odd that they all aren't here…maybe food poisoning?**

 **Cruz: Oh that's a pleasant thought.**

 **Alfred: ANYWAY!**

 **Matthew: And here I thought I would die before I ever saw you two agree on something.**

 **Cruz: ._.**

 **Alfred: ._. Can you use different wording please?**

 **Matthew: Why?**

 **Allistor: Would you all shut up and pay attention!**

Arthur smiled seeing his brother intervening before looking back up at the teacher again.

"If there are people in this room who do not want to bother paying attention, then leave!" Mr. Specks pointed towards the door.

No one moved from their seats, all staring at the teacher in shock. Arthur looked around the room before shrugging. He got up and took his books with him, wandering out of the room.

"If you're going to open the invitation…" Arthur smiled at the teacher before exiting. He shut the door behind him and walked down the hall. A fit of laughter overtook him when he thought back to the faces of his classmates.

Pulling out his phone, Arthur grinned and typed in a message.

 **Arthur: Paying attention very rarely pays off.**

 **Alfred: XD**

 **Allistor: Remember that when it's time for finals.**

 **Arthur: Oh I'm sure I will. In the meantime, bye!**

 **Allistor: What? ._.**

 **Alfred: Wait, are you leaving?**

 **Matthew: Eh?**

 **Arthur: :) Teacher said for anyone not paying attention to leave. So I left.**

 **Allistor: Are you trying to get grounded even more?!**

 **Alfred: Oh man D: I wish our teacher would say that.**

 **Matthew: She's going to notice one of us texting here soon. And I'm sure it's gonna be me.**

 **Cruz: Whichever one of you sits in the front of the room.**

 **Matthew: That would be me.**

 **Cruz: See you in the office. :)**

 **Allistor: Get back in class, brother!**

 **Arthur: That would be awkward right now. I already left, and I'm heading for the doors.**

 **Cruz: …You're leaving school?**

 **Arthur: I said, bye.**

 **Allistor: You are gonna be so grounded…**

 **Arthur: Already am!**

 **Reilly: And where are you planning on going exactly? Mom and dad aren't home.**

 **Arthur: Haven't decided yet. Might find the fastest route to see the Beilschmidts…**

 **Alfred: mattie got sent to the office…**

 **Cruz: Great. I'm still down here.**

 **Matthew: Crap. In troubleeeeeee…Alfred, you're a bad influence. :(**

 **Allistor: Do you even know where they live?**

 **Arthur: No. Like I said, finding the fastest route.**

 **Reilly: ._. How the **** are you going to do that?**

 **Arthur: There's a car coming :D**

 **Allistor: What**

 **Alfred: WHOA, Arthur don't do it!**

 **Matthew: EHHHHHH?**

 **Cruz: Well that escalated quickly.**

 **Reilly: What the **** are you even ******* thinking?!**

 **Arthur: bye!**

* * *

.

.

Matthew pushed open the door to the office and peered in, nervous at first about entering. He spotted Cruz lounging on one of the chairs and stepped into the room, shutting the door behind him. "Eh…" Matthew plopped down beside Cruz.

"…" Cruz stared at the screen of his phone, still looking over the past status updates.

Matthew leaned to his right slightly to look at the display on Cruz's phone, "No word after?"

"No. …He didn't really go out in front of a car, did he?" Cruz glanced at Matthew.

"I didn't hear any horns…so I don't think so…" Matthew shrugged a bit and glanced at the secretary (currently looking in through the door to the principal). He glanced at Cruz again, not sure what to say.

"Hm…" Cruz shrugged and continued glancing through the updates, "…His brother is having a fit."

Matthew nodded quietly, swinging his legs back and forth.

Miss Kia looked back over her shoulder at Matthew and motioned into the office, "Mr. Smith is off the phone now, you can go in."

"Oh, thank you." Matthew bounced up out of his seat and hurried into the office.

"Okay…Matthew, you were sent down here for…" Mr. Smith looked up from his desk. He raised an eyebrow at the blonde.

"Um…I came in to class late…" Matthew glanced out the window, hoping to avoid eye contact.

"Late for class…" Mr. Smith sighed, "Why were you running late this morning?"

"Alarm clock failure." Matthew blushed a bit, "I must have been hitting the snooze button while I was sleeping."

"Ah, I see." Mr. Smith shook his head, "Well then, this is your first late mark for the year, correct?"

Matthew nodded silently.

"Don't worry about it then. Just sit out there until class is over." Mr. Smith motioned to the door, indicating to where Cruz was sitting.

"Yes, sir." Matthew quickly escaped from the room and sat back down next to Cruz again. Letting out a quiet sigh of relief, Matthew elbowed Cruz when he heard the male laughing, "Shut up."

"Got off?" Cruz smirked.

"Yes, thankfully." Matthew leaned back in his seat. He smiled slightly, "At least I didn't have to mention texting during class…"

Cruz shook his head with a small smile and glanced at his phone once more. "Still nothing more from him."

Matthew leaned against Cruz's shoulder, watching him scan through the status updates. "Allistor is posting a lot of censored words…"

"Yeah." Cruz smirked a bit, "So is the other one."

"Reilly." Matthew said quietly.

"Whatever his name is." Cruz said flatly, "The twin redheads are having a twin fit."

Matthew started laughing, "Well I suppose they're slightly protective of him maybe?"

"That or they just have anger management issues…and if I hear one comment from you about that." Cruz shot a glare at Matthew.

"Comment about what?" Matthew looked up at him with an innocent expression, "I wasn't even thinking anything!"

"Like hell you weren't." Cruz grumbled.

Matthew smiled and straightened up again. "Well…" The smile became slightly teasing, "A thought may have come to mind…"

"Yeah. I knew that." Cruz pushed Matthew with his hand, "Tease."

* * *

.

.

Alfred peered at the phone under his desk, watching the status updates with worry. Still no word from Arthur. _'He didn't seriously go out in front of a car…'_ Alfred made a face and quickly posted a message.

 **Alfred: Anyone know what happened with Arthur?**

 **Allistor: **** that stupid idiot.**

Alfred made a face at the phone and slipped it back into his pocket. Drumming his fingers on the desk, Alfred glanced up towards the clock on the wall, waiting for class to be over. _'Maybe I should find a way to get kicked out…'_

Any text made to Arthur had so far gone unanswered, much to his annoyance. "Come on." Alfred sighed. He laid his head down on the desk and stared out the window, glaring down at the road that ran past the school building's east side.

 _'Arthur wouldn't seriously go out in front of traffic…and even if he was, how would that help him get to wherever Gilbert lives anyway?'_ Alfred sat up again, still staring out the window. _'Maybe he recognized whoever was in the car?'_

"Can I have a volunteer to take these papers down to Mr. Howard's room?"

Alfred looked up at Mrs. Rose and instantly raised his hand, "Sure!"

"Oh thank you, Alfred!" Mrs. Rose beamed at him.

Alfred skipped up to the front of the room and took the papers before exiting. _'Seeing as how no one else will even go down there unless they have to…'_ Alfred grinned to himself and quickly went through the hall. He hadn't quite been expecting his ticket out of math class to come to him like that, but he wasn't about to complain either.

Alfred made his way down the stairs and glanced over his shoulder when he stepped out into the hallway. "Why is it always so empty…I mean, I know people are in class or what not, but you always hear stories of people skipping, where do they go to when they're cutting class?" Alfred tilted his head and continued walking down the hall towards the gym office.

Finding the door to be locked, Alfred shrugged and pushed the papers underneath the door. Better to go that option instead of trying to find the coach (especially after what Cruz was saying on the phone). He turned to start going back to his classroom, but his gaze focused on the entrance doors, just barely in sight. _'…I wonder if Arthur might still be out there?'_

Walking as silently as he could, Alfred peered into the lobby, finding it deserted. He made his way to the doors and peered out through the glass, but the schoolyard was empty, and he couldn't see anyone standing on the sidewalk. _'So…wherever Arthur went, he's not still out there.'_

Alfred sighed and started back across the lobby floor when his phone went off. He paused and pulled the device out of his pocket, glancing at the message with some confusion.

 **Arthur: Do my idiot brothers seriously thinks I jumped in front of a car?**

 **Alfred: Actually we were kinda all thinking that with those last few messages of yours.**

 **Arthur: There is such a thing as ASKING FOR DIRECTIONS.**

 **Alfred: Who does that? :I**

* * *

.

.

Antonio leaned forward, hovering his hand just above Lovino's head. Despite Lovino's eyes being closed, a hand came up and swatted at Antonio before contact was made.

"Lovi~ wake up!" Antonio grinned.

"I'm obviously awake already." Lovino opened one eye and glared at him, "What?"

"Talk to meeeee!"

"There's nothing to talk about!" Lovino snapped.

Antonio pouted for a moment, "So come up with something."

"Oh my word." Lovino hit his forehead against the table, "Can't we just sleep?"

"Sleeping is at night! The morning is for talking~" Antonio scooted his chair around the table, ignoring the squeaking sounds he made.

"Go away." Lovino said flatly, not bothering to look up.

"Talk to meeeee~"

"Said no." Lovino grumbled.

Antonio pouted again, but his gaze fell on the journal on the opposite side of Lovino's head. He leaned forward to make sure Lovino's eyes were shut before quietly reaching over top of him and managed to grab the journal by a corner. Lifting it carefully, Antonio brought the journal to where he was sitting and held it in both hands with a triumphant smile.

"Did you find something else to do?" Lovino asked, still not looking up.

"Yup." Antonio grinned, still holding Lovino's journal.

Lovino turned his head to give the male a suspicious look, but didn't recognize the journal from the back, "What the hell are you doing?"

"Nothing…yet." Antonio ruffled Lovino's hair, "Lovi can sleep~"

"That was a fast change of your mind." Lovino waved Antonio's hand away and laid his head back down, "Whatever. Let me sleep then."

Antonio opened the journal to the page Lovino had been looking at earlier. _'Something in here is interesting~'_

.

.

* * *

Grammar updates and more chapter combining.


	23. Brotherly Concern

Moving on. Added a larger conversation between Allistor and Arthur~

* * *

.

.

Arthur looked at his phone with an expression that could only be read as apprehension. "They are going to _murder_ me." He dropped the phone beside him and rubbed his forehead with the hand that had just been holding his mobile device. Fortunately last year's events had proved Alfred to be more than just a little gullible.

Arthur's hand moved down to cover his mouth as he stared out the window of the room he was currently occupying. Thinking back to the previous year, he had some better ideas than the one that led him to where he was now. Of course being honest on that emotional aptitude test wasn't one of the better ideas.

"I wonder how long it'll be before someone realizes it." Arthur shook his head with a sigh and leaned his head back. His head hit the pillow that someone had brought him not that long ago. At least he could sit in comfort while waiting. Even if the waiting was going to turn out to end in getting lectured.

 _'And here comes the lecture-bringer now.'_ A smile tugged at the corners of Arthur's mouth as he heard the unmistakable footsteps storming through the hallway.

Roderich stalked around the corner of the doorframe and glared at Arthur, "You have had some seriously idiotic ideas, but _this one_ takes the lead by far."

"I'm sure this idea of yours wasn't the brightest either." Arthur smiled cheerfully, "You could just outright tell Gilbert you care about him."

"Shut up." Roderich snapped, "I am doing quite fine on my own, and I am not about to take relationship advice from someone who jumped in front of a _car!_ "

"Clearly." Arthur chuckled, "Nonetheless, I'm fine. I just have a few bruises here and there."

"You're lucky nothing was broken." Roderich stalked over to the bedside and looked at Arthur's chart that was hanging on the wall briefly.

"It was a school zone. No car would be going fast enough to break a bone." Arthur glanced at him, "So how is Gilbert anyway?"

"Unconscious still. His father is all but in an uproar. I rather pity Gilbert when he does wake up." Roderich sighed, "He was sick since the beginning of summer but told no one…"

Arthur just nodded his head quietly.

"How did you know he was here anyway?" Roderich looked at him confused.

"I have quite a few classes with him this year. His behavior was almost identical to the way he was at the end of last year, especially in the emotional camp." Arthur managed to shrug one shoulder.

"…You knew he was sick…and said _nothing_." Roderich repeated.

Arthur met Roderich's narrowed gaze with an unfazed expression on his face, "I may have been threatened into silence."

Roderich scowled and looked about ready to hit Arthur with the closest object he could find, but exercised self-restraint instead, "Do you have any idea how close he came to dying?"

"I imagine it progressed a lot faster than he had imagined then." Arthur commented, "Because the last we were talking about it, he was saying he had another month or so to tell his parents."

"When was this?" Roderich crossed his arms, eyes still narrowed.

"About a week ago maybe." Arthur said flatly. He picked up his phone and looked at the status updates, scrolling through and chuckling slightly at the various asterisks that followed with each message from Allistor and Reilly.

Roderich rolled his eyes and turned his glare towards the wall instead, "Stupid idiot…"

"Oh cut Gilbert a break." Arthur sighed, "He's still in the mindframe of not telling people when he's having problems. That doesn't go away overnight."

"I'm aware of that." Roderich sank into an empty chair and continued scowling.

Arthur raised an eyebrow at the latest message, "Huh…I should remember to thank Alfred for keeping his mouth shut."

"Did you tell him you were here?" Roderich asked, a little surprised.

"No. I told him I asked for directions." Arthur glanced at Roderich, "Don't give me that patronizing look either."

Roderich looked more than slightly amused by the response he had gotten, "Clearly you know all about the mindframe of not telling people things."

"Yes well…" Arthur looked back down at the phone again.

 **Allistor: Where the **** is Arthur?**

 **Alfred: He said he asked for directions, nothing after that. :I**

"Idiot." Arthur grumbled.

Roderich took out his own phone and absentmindedly moved through the status updates, barely even reading everything. "Clearly we can't even miss one day of school."

"Not all at once anyway." Arthur commented.

 **Arthur: Shut up Alfred. I said I asked for directions, I'm fine.**

 **Allistor: Oh the dead man speaks.**

 **Alfred: Huh? How is he a dead man?**

"Alfred doesn't know him very well." Roderich commented.

"No, no he does not." Arthur sighed, "I give up. These two are impossible." He hit his head back against the pillow again and glanced to the doorframe again as Ludwig peered around, "Hello."

"Hallo." Ludwig gave a small smile, "I was wondering where he stormed off to." Ludwig glanced at Roderich for a moment before coming into the room, "What happened?"

"A car." Arthur smiled, laughing a bit, "I'm fine. Just bruises and waiting for the tests to finish coming back."

"Ach…" Ludwig winced and pulled up a chair next to Roderich. He leaned over slightly to look at the status updates, a frown coming across his face for a moment, "What is with the cursing?"

"Due mostly to the idiot laying on the bed." Roderich smiled.

"Allistor is _always_ cursing." Arthur snapped. He rubbed his forehead again and glanced out the window once more. Curiosity led him to glance down at his phone again and he smiled a bit.

 **Roderich: Oh now that's really mature of you.**

 **Alfred: Oh HEY! You speak!**

 **Roderich: Of course I do. It's not like I lost my voice.**

 **Cruz: I think blondie meant you're talking even though you're not in class.**

 **Roderich: Nor are all of you apparently. If you have the time to be posting so much.**

 **Matthew: Well** ** _we're_** **not. Alfred is.**

 **Alfred: Just because** ** _you_** **got caught texting :P**

 **Ludwig: Shouldn't that be a hint to stop?**

 **Cruz: Oh, you missed out on the fun in gym.**

 **Ludwig: Did I? What happened?**

 **Matthew: Someone was sassing the teacher.**

 **Ludwig: but the only one who talks back is…never mind.**

 **Cruz: Never thought sassy would be a word to describe me.**

 **Allistor: So where is Arthur at?**

 **Arthur: Not at school. And that is all you need to know. -_- Now stop with the censored cursing.**

 **Allistor: Oh and I was the one being called mature.**

 **Roma: I hate to interrupt your fun…but…shouldn't everyone in class be not on their phones?**

 **Roderich: I'm not in class.**

 **Arthur: Not in class**

 **Cruz: In the office, you just passed us.**

 **Matthew: HI! :)**

 **Roma: Oh hello~**

 **Alfred: …you're not a very good example.**

 **Roma: I never claimed to be. ;D**

 **Roderich: Oh my word.**

Roderich shook his head with a heavy sigh and glanced at his watch momentarily, "Clearly Roma still has yet to grow up."

"He acts like a grown up when he's needed to." Arthur spoke up, "But if the situation doesn't require being serious, he's not going to be."

Ludwig smiled a bit. "Mutti said that he and father could go for hours arguing about when to be serious."

 **Allistor: You're going to be grounded even longer if mom and dad find out you're skipping.**

 **Arthur: Oh I don't doubt it a bit.**

 **Reilly: So where are you, besides not at school?**

 **Arthur: Not telling.**

 **Allistor: Oh how mature.**

Roderich raised an eyebrow, "Like he's one to talk."

Ludwig started laughing, "If they find out you're here, you're going to be in a lot of trouble!"

 **Regis: Didn't Roderich and Ludwig just go over to talk to Arthur?**

Arthur glanced at his phone and paled considerably, "Oh geez."

"Uh…you might want to shut him up. Otherwise we're _all_ going to have visitors." Roderich glanced at Ludwig.

 **Ludwig: Vati. Not another word, danke.**

 **Allistor: ._.**

 **Reilly: ._.**

 **Alfred: Wait, what? Where are you guys at?**

 **Regis: Why am I being quiet?**

 **Arthur: Nowhere.**

 **Allistor: WELL OBVIOUSLY YOU'RE ******* SOMEWHERE.**

 **Regis: Never mind. I see why I'm keeping silent now.**

 **Roma: Seriously, what classes do you all have that you can get away with texting? :I**

Arthur let out a heavy sigh, "Roma to the rescue."

"I wouldn't count on that rescue helping much." Roderich gave a look of disdain towards Arthur, "The damage was done already with Regis's comment. It will take them how long to figure out we're all here?"

"Maybe they'll just think we're all at my house." Ludwig offered.

Arthur let out a scoffing sound, "Right. In the meantime, soon as I go home, I'm in serious trouble."

"Maybe your brother just has anger management issues." Roderich commented.

"I dare you to tell him that." Arthur grumbled.

 **Roderich: Allistor.**

 **Allistor: What?**

 **Roderich: Has it ever occurred to you that you might have anger management issues?**

Arthur stared at his phone in disbelief, "Did you seriously just…"

Ludwig burst out laughing at the messages, "Mein gott, Roderich!"

 **Reilly: Brave words through a screen.**

 **Allistor: **** you.**

 **Roderich: I can say them in person just as well. And I will next time I see you both.**

 **Roma: …it's getting a bit hot-tempered in here.**

 **Cruz: And it's not me this time.**

 **Matthew: Ehhhh…**

"Can you kindly remember I live with those two?" Arthur glared at Roderich, "You're doing a fine job of making the situation worse!"

"You dared me to." Roderich smiled and waited for the response to come on his phone.

 **Allistor: Going to punch you in the face before you do.**

 **Ludwig: Good luck getting through bruder first.**

 **Roderich: Allistor: Oh I'm sure you will. Ludwig: You're optimistic aren't you? Am I not to be leaving until he wakes up?**

Arthur looked at the updates for a moment before calmly laying the phone down and turned his head slowly to stare at Roderich and Ludwig, "…"

 **Allistor: …**

 **Reilly: …**

 **Ludwig: Despite all outward appearances, I am optimistic.**

 **Regis: That would make you and your mother the only ones being so.**

 **Roma: Oh that's harsh. :(**

 **Allistor: Is it just me…or did that make it sound as if Arthur was in the hospital?**

 **Reilly: Not just you.**

 **Arthur: Roderich and Ludwig: Since you two like texting so much when you're sitting next to each other. Thank you so much.**

 **Allistor: ******* idiot. What the **** did you do.**

 **Roderich: My fault, didn't think about that before I posted it.**

 **Ludwig: Sorry.**

 **Regis: wasn't me who said it**

 **Alfred: ._. Why are you all in the hospital? What's wrong with Gilbert?**

 **Ludwig: Ach…not talking about it. We're all fine.**

 **Allistor: Then why did you have to go to a separate room to talk to Arthur?**

Arthur glanced at the phone before returning his glare towards Roderich and Ludwig, "Don't think for one second I'm picking up my phone and saying anything else."

"Ahm…" Ludwig looked at Roderich, "Any ideas on how to fix this?"

"Not one." Roderich made a face.

 **Roderich: He's in the waiting room?**

 **Ludwig: Ja. Limit on visitors.**

 **Alfred: ._. Arthur, you had to get directions to the hospital?**

Arthur buried his face in his hands, "Of all the times to think about that, why did it have to be right then."

"Yeah…I don't think we can fix this. It's like a snowball rolling down a hill." Ludwig commented.

Roderich just nodded in silence.

 **Arthur: There was construction. I was asking how to get around it.**

 **Alfred: Oh that makes sense :D**

 **Matthew: Uhm…**

 **Cruz: There's a giant hole in that argument but I'm going to keep my mouth shut.**

 **Arthur: Oh by all means, you already pointed it out.**

 **Allistor: What construction? ._.**

 **Reilly: Someone is gonna be in a lot of trouble.**

"I'm just going to put this over here." Arthur slid his phone onto the stand beside the hospital bed, "Before I say anything else really stupid."

"Ja…" Ludwig put the phone in his pocket with a sigh, "Probably best to just stop."

"Oh sure. And leave me with the cursing idiots." Roderich commented.

 **Regis: I'm just going to add in here: he is in the waiting room. He was just worried about Gilbert.**

Roderich raised both eyebrows, "Oh. He actually said something to benefit. I'm impressed."

Ludwig leaned over out of curiosity, "Ja, but the comment about the needing directions to get here still stands."

"Well, someone needs to learn to lie a bit better." Roderich commented, loud enough for Arthur to hear.

"More like I should just learn when to not say anything at all." Arthur grumbled.

"That would probably be even better." Roderich smiled, "In any case, hopefully the disaster known as your older brothers has been…"

 **Allistor: So whereabouts would I find him then? –in the waiting room-**

 **Roma: Would you people stop skipping class!**

"Averted?" Arthur asked.

"No. Rather a disaster is incoming." Roderich sighed, "Apparently Allistor decided to skip class. According to his message he's in the waiting room."

"…He is _not_." Arthur grabbed his phone and looked at the last message, "Oh for…"

 **Reilly: Didn't mother tell you not to skip class again? XD**

 **Allistor: Like **** I care. Teacher was boring.**

 **Roma: Oh how rude. Oh there's the bell!**

 **Cruz: Finally.**

 **Matthew: On to next class…um. Good luck Arthur if Allistor catches up!**

 **Arthur: Clearly there is little to no faith in me here.**

 **Allistor: Where the heck are you at.**

 **Arthur: Clearly somewhere you are not. Thankfully.**

* * *

 **.**

 **.**

Matthew folded his hands calmly on the desktop, eyes intent on Mr. Specks at the front of the room. He could see Cruz out of the corner of his eye checking his phone now and then. For Matthew, he could pretty much guess what was being said just by the facial expressions and occasional quiet laugh from his friend. Even if it had been pre-thought out, the overall timing was pretty bad. They should have at least waited a day or two _after_ the video fiasco. _'Maybe something happened to Gilbert that was unplanned…'_ Matthew tilted his head slightly, thinking of what the albino had been plotting. It was a risk that their normally-loud friend had taken in putting off the conversation with his parents for so long.

Cruz glanced to his left to look at Matthew in confusion. The blonde was sitting as still as a damned statue, eyes never straying from the front of the classroom. If Cruz hadn't known better, he would swear Matthew had fallen asleep with his eyes open. _'The hell is his problem?'_ Half-tempted to throw something at the blonde, Cruz glanced down at his phone again to read the newest threat on his display screen.

 **Allistor: I should just ask at the desk.**

 **Reilly: Go for it. Since you both are going to be grounded for a half-century anyway.**

 **Roderich: Is there always a problem between siblings? I'm just curious, but it certainly seems that way.**

 **Alfred: No problems between me and Mattie!**

Cruz let out a quiet scoffing sound. Right. No problems at all.

 **Cruz: Right. You keep telling yourself that.**

 **Alfred: :I What?**

 **Cruz: Last year?**

 **Alfred: That was totally last year. Not this year. Problems all gone.**

 **Lovino: No they're not.**

 **Alfred: ._.**

 **Cruz: ._.**

Cruz raised an eyebrow and looked over at Matthew. Now what the hell was that supposed to mean? He frowned for a moment before leaning over and tapping a couple times on the corner of Matthew's desk.

Matthew blinked and looked down at the hand before his gaze moved to the owner, "Yes?" He blinked at Cruz. Hopefully it wasn't a question about what Mr. Specks had just said, because Matthew wasn't listening at all.

Cruz motioned to the phone and half-glared at Matthew, silently passing the message he didn't have a choice in looking at it.

Matthew tilted his head in confusion but took out his phone to look at the messages.

 **Alfred: What do you mean the problems aren't gone?**

 **Lovino: They're not gone. Simple as that. It was self-explanatory.**

 **Allistor: Oh, is that why Arthur jumped in front of a car?**

 **Reilly: He did WHAT.**

 **Arthur: Oh geez. You really did ask at the desk.**

 **Roderich: I'm going to bail out of the room now.**

 **Ludwig: Ja… Vati, we're coming back.**

 **Cruz: Wasn't that therapy supposed to help?**

 **Matthew: It did absolute wonders, didn't it?**

Cruz looked up from his phone and turned his head to stare at Matthew in disbelief.

Matthew smiled and waved cheerfully.

 **Arthur: Quite. I learned a lot.**

 **Allistor: You sarcastic idiots.**

 **Matthew: Who's being sarcastic? And glaring at me isn't going to do a thing.**

 **Cruz: Yelling at you is only going to get me sent to the office _again_.**

 **Alfred: Sassy Cruz~**

Matthew dropped his phone in his lap and promptly burst out laughing. He quickly put a hand over his mouth as the eyes of his classmates slowly turned to look back at him. _'Alfred, you are such a bad influence.'_

"Is there something you would like to share with the rest of the class?" Mr. Specks glared at Matthew, not amused at all.

Matthew kept the hand over his mouth and shook his head, but his shoulders were still shaking from laughter.

Cruz's eyes narrowed and he shot a poisonous glare at Matthew, knowing full-well the reason for his laughing. "I will hurt you." He hissed quietly, "Just wait."

"Alright, Mr. Williams, since you find class so hilarious, you can go down to the office and tell the principal what you're finding to be such a joke." Mr. Specks motioned to the door.

"Yes, sir." Matthew smiled cheerfully and picked up his books, patting Cruz on the shoulder as he passed by, "Have fun, sassy~" Hurrying out of the room before any retort could follow, Matthew burst out laughing as soon as the door was shut behind him.

 **Cruz: I will KILL YOU.**

 **Alfred: Whoa. Something just happened.**

 **Matthew: I just got sent to the office again~**

 **Arthur: ._. What for?**

 **Matthew: Laughing.**

 **Cruz: you ******* called me sassy before you left, **** you!**

 **Alfred: XD**

 **Matthew: :P And you are!**

 **Roma: Wooooow… I pity your teachers.**

Matthew spun in a circle in the hallway, twirling around without a care about going to the office.

 **Matthew: Second time to the office in the span of two classes~ This is going to be a fun year!**

 **Cruz: right. You keep telling yourself that when you have a school record.**

 **Alfred: Mattieeeeee, you're gonna get grounded!**

Matthew peered into a classroom as he was walking by and waved at Lovino who shot him a death-glare.

 **Matthew: I see Lovino!**

 **Lovino: Yeah. I see you, too.**

 **Antonio: XD**

 **Matthew: HI!**

Matthew grinned and kept going down the hall. His footsteps paused in their tracks as he peered into the room he was passing by. "…Temptation…" He tried the doorknob and found it to be unlocked. Matthew smiled and pushed open the door, peering around the corner to make sure that it wasn't occupied before shutting the door behind him.

"Fun!" Matthew locked the door and skipped over to a microphone. His eyes lit up as he picked up the microphone. Fortunately there was a convenient chart on the wall with how to work the announcement system.

Matthew plopped down in the swivel chair that was next to the mic and tapped on the speaker a couple times. Hearing the sound echo back over the speakers, a wide smile came across Matthew's face.

"Good morning students and faculty~" Matthew spun in the chair while speaking on the mic, imagining the look on his friends' faces all too well.

 **Cruz: Don't even tell me…**

 **Antonio: OHMYWORD. MATTHEW YOU ARE AWESOME.**

 **Lovino: you are an idiot.**

 **Alfred: XD**

 **Reilly: Oh no.**

 **Roma: …I don't think I should be condoning this…**

 **Arthur: Condoning what? What is he doing?**

 **Cruz: talking on the announcement system.**

 **Alfred: Mattie, you have officially made my day.**

"I would like to take this time to remind all of you a few of our wonderful school rules that have been broken several times so far this year!" Matthew continued spinning in the chair. So far there was no one at the door, which he was finding rather surprising. He would have thought Mr. Smith would be banging on it by this point.

 **Lovino: I don't even want to know where you're going with this.**

 **Antonio: I do :D**

 **Roma: …This cannot be just about school rules…**

 **Cruz: The hell are you doing.**

"First and foremost, this is for all you teachers out there. When you're teaching a class and you suspect some of your students are not listening, the proper thing to do is _not_ to ask them to leave, that's just going to make the bad behavior increase, because let's be honest with ourselves, who wants to listen to those annoying lectures?" Matthew spun in a circle once more, hearing several classroom doors slam open. Hopefully that lock would hold up. "Secondly, again for you teachers, if you notice a change in a student's overall health disposition, it would probably be wise to consult the school nurse or the principal on the matter. If the student's health is dropping over a span of several weeks this could be a sign of a serious condition that needs to be taken care of."

 **Cruz: Please tell me he is not giving the teachers a lecture.**

 **Antonio: Oh man, Roderich you're missing it!**

 **Roderich: What am I missing? Is he saying something interesting?**

 **Alfred: XD That was a comment totally aimed at Gilbert.**

 **Roderich: ._. ?**

 **Lovino: Oh geez…**

"Third on the list, I'm sure many of you are all aware of that emotional aptitude test getting sent home to the parents; well I can guarantee you that sending that thing home accomplishes absolutely _nothing_. I would like to assure each and every one of you, however, that none of us have any desire whatsoever to go and fling ourselves off the nearest rooftop."

 **Cruz: Well that's a huge relief.**

 **Alfred: ._.**

 **Roma: This conversation suddenly became rather unpleasant.**

 **Antonio: ._.**

 **Roderich: What is he saying?**

 **Arthur: Anyway, what _is_ he saying?**

 **Alfred: uh…**

"Do not take this to mean that we are going to run out to the nearest emotional counseling therapy place and get help. Just because we're a little farther away from the normalcy of expressing ourselves than others, does not mean we need help. We're doing quite fine on our own, thank you very much, and forcing help on people who don't want it is going to only make things worse." Matthew waved at the principal who was now standing outside the door, glaring in through the window.

 **Roma: Well. I have to admit, he is speaking up more.**

 **Cruz: Yeah. A lot more.**

 **Alfred: He's gonna get detention…**

 **Reilly: That ain't all he's gettin'. I can hear the principal from here.**

 **Lovino: … So can I actually.**

 **Antonio: I can't.**

"This ends my announcement for the moment. There's someone at the door being rather rude." Matthew dropped the microphone and switched the intercom to 'off' before getting up from his chair.

 **Cruz: did you just call the principal rude**

 **Alfred: on the announcement system?**

 **Reilly: Have fun in detention.**

 **Antonio: Eeeeeeeeesh D:**

 **Roma: That was rather amusing though.**

 **Lovino: You are a bad influence on us all.**

 **.**

 **.**

* * *

Arthur hummed quietly to himself while Allistor continued cursing (rather loudly) next to the bed. Fortunately he had learned to somewhat tune out the overall noise his brother caused. "Whenever you're quite through giving me a blister on my ear." Arthur commented, interrupting the rant his brother was on.

"You're gonna be getting one of hell of a bigger blister when mom and dad find out about this one." Allistor glowered at Arthur, "You're lucky you weren't even hurt!"

Arthur glanced at the redhead, "You skipped school, too, so you're in just as much trouble as me on that regard. And for your information, the car was in a school zone…"

"I'm aware it was in a school zone, doesn't mean the damned person is going to be following the speed limit." Allistor snapped.

"Actually, I was _about_ to say, before you so rudely interrupted," Arthur raised an eyebrow at Allistor, even though he didn't have much room to talk on stopping someone else from speaking, "The car was in a school zone _and_ speeding. So actually, I'm lucky I'm even conscious. I wouldn't use the term not injured."

Allistor stared at him blankly, "Blonde guy said you weren't hurt."

"One, His name is Ludwig, and two, he was repeating the exact same thing I told him." Arthur smiled. He lifted up his left arm from under the sheet to reveal a cast, "I was beginning to wonder if they were going to question why I was only using my right hand."

"You. Are. An. Idiot." Allistor growled.

"I get that a lot." Arthur smiled cheerfully and put his head back against the pillow again, "Nonetheless, I'm fine. And I had a perfectly legitimate reason for jumping in front of a speeding car."

"I hope you're not about to say to get here faster." Allistor sank into the empty chair that Roderich had recently vacated, and shot a narrowed glare at Arthur.

"Not at all." Arthur closed his eyes but the smile didn't fade, "It was just to give Gilbert company while he was here."

"And you couldn't just sit by him in _his_ room?" Allistor scowled.

"Where's the fun in that?" Arthur turned his head, opening his eyes once more, "Besides, second time in a hospital now, this time I'm injured enough to be in one. First time I had to get a forced ride in an ambulance." Arthur smiled and turned his gaze to the ceiling. Actually when he thought about it… "The similarities are rather haunting."

Allistor tilted his head, "Haunting?" For once, he didn't look like he was about to go into a fit of rage (for which Arthur was grateful).

Arthur nodded quietly. "Maybe that wasn't the best word for it, but that's what it seems like. Having to ride in a stupid ambulance…and on a gurney with a sheet over my head in case anyone was in the hospital that day that would recognize me…"

Allistor made a face, "I still can't believe mom and dad didn't even _tell us._ " He scowled for a moment before scooting his chair closer to the bedside.

"Well they were probably hoping that when I came back I would be…normal." Arthur huffed, "Clearly not. I'm still doing crap I shouldn't be and jumping in front of a moving car that I know is speeding."

"Obviously." Allistor lightly punched Arthur's shoulder, making sure not to hit near the cast.

"I really don't think there is ever going to be a sense of normal with us." Arthur commented, "Gilbert is never going to be able to drop the nicknames he has for every male in his family, Lovino is still having problems with family, and Matthew is…probably the only one of us actually doing anything about it."

Allistor's chair was facing the bed, allowing him to lean up against the wall as he continued to stare at Arthur, "It's only going to fail when you stop trying."

"I know that." Arthur sighed, "Sometimes the number of failures can make one want to stop trying though."

Allistor scowled a moment and reached over to slap Arthur on the head (lightly). "Don't do that. So help me if you _ever_ do a repeat of last year. Don't even _attempt_ it."

"As I said last year, that was clearly not my choice to make. I was given two options, and both of them ended with my leaving." Arthur looked at him, rather annoyed, "Either way would have gotten me to the place with little to no sleep and inedible meals. Though our school must have gotten their recipes from that place for this year…"

"The food is awful so far this year, I will concede that, but. You are _not_ doing that again. I don't care if a damn teacher comes up to you and tells you the exact same thing as last year, have a little sympathy for the family members you put through hell last year!" The scowl remained on Allistor's face, but for some reason it wasn't as intimidating as it usually was.

Arthur gave a small smile, "Oh sure. And I'm just supposed to tell the teachers off or something?"

"Go for it." Allistor rolled his eyes.

"I was joking." Arthur scoffed and shifted his left arm to look at the cast again.

"I wasn't." Allistor grumbled, "Annoying idiots…"

Silence slowly drifted between the two and Arthur let his gaze go out the window once more. It seemed rather strange now that he thought more about it. The end of last school year, they were doing a lot better, but ever since they started going back to classes, for some reason it felt like he had fallen into the same slump as before. It was one of the reasons he had opted out of the student council for this year, hoping that would help alleviate some of the stress he had been feeling. So far it was doing nothing. _'Only going to fail when I stop trying…'_ Arthur let out a quiet sigh.

"What was the sigh for?"

"Just thinking of the similarities."

"Of last year still?" Allistor asked.

"Not just that." Arthur looked back to his older brother, "...Do you miss Ireland?"

"Where the hell did that come from?" The redhead stared at him in confusion, "Are we still on the same conversation?"

"Same conversation." Arthur sighed.

Allistor raised an eyebrow, "Yeah I miss it. It's where I spent my childhood. Doesn't everyone want to stay where they grew up at? It's where the strongest memories are formed at."

"... dad didn't." Arthur spoke quietly.

"I'm aware." Allistor made a face, "What, you're saying you two are similar?"

"Dad said it." Arthur looked out the window again, "I was just wondering how he was in high school."

Allistor leaned back in his chair, looking rather thoughtful, "Huh... I wonder. We should ask mum sometime~"

"Why did you guys move here anyway?"

"What the hell kind of question is that?" Allistor gaped at him in disbelief, "We came here to be with you two!"

"Maybe I worded that wrong." Arthur tugged on the corners of his bedsheet, "But... why now?" He looked back to Allistor, "What changed after high school started that all of a sudden you guys had to be here?"

Allistor didn't answer right away, and instead turned his gaze upwards towards the ceiling, "...it wasn't because of mum if that's what you're asking. She wanted dad to be happy, but she loved Ireland, so she was content to talking to him over the phone or on the computer."

Arthur frowned slightly. _Well it wasn't because of grandmum and granddad either, because they still live in Ireland._

"I suppose, in all honesty, you changed." Allistor answered finally.

"Huh?" Arthur stared at him in confusion.

"I don't know what caused it to be quite honest." Allistor shrugged, "But just... all of a sudden, Reilly and I both felt as though something had happened. Like some part of you broke."

Arthur's eyes narrowed, as he tried to remember his freshman year. He couldn't remember any one thing that stood out to him to describe what Reilly and Allistor had felt.

"I was just going to call, but Reilly insisted on telling mum, and she decided a visit in person would probably be better. And we ended up staying here." Allistor's gaze drifted back to Arthur, "...but honestly, remembering us seeing you for the first time our freshman year... I honestly had to wonder..."

"What caused the change?" Arthur asked, "Because I sure haven't the faintest idea what it was."

"No, I wondered why it took us so long to realize it in the first place." Allistor said flatly.

Arthur looked at Allistor in shock, "What was that supposed to mean?"

Allistor just turned away and kept his gaze on the wall, leaving Arthur to sit in confusion and silence.

* * *

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.

Lovino sat with his elbows propped on the desk in front of him, face buried in his hands. He was currently still in disbelief about Matthew speaking over the p.a. system without any form of consent from any teacher. Granted it had stopped the teacher mid-sentence about whatever form of alien algebra she had been speaking about, it was still damned embarrassing.

He lifted his head from his hands, staring at the marker board. Mrs. Rose was just leaning on her desk with one arm, nodding quietly to herself even though Matthew hadn't been talking for several minutes now. Not quite sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Well then." Mrs. Rose closed the text book she had been holding before the announcement started and dropped it on her desk, "Since we apparently have a disagreement on how teachers are running their classroom…"

Lovino raised both eyebrows. This could not possibly turn into anything good.

"How many students in here are done hearing me talk about equations?" Mrs. Rose smiled cheerfully and looked around the room.

Lovino glanced around him at a couple wavering hands that went in the air. Hesitating for a moment, he raised his own as well and waited while she counted the number of hands in the air.

"Looks like we have…about ten students in here that are done listening." Mrs. Rose cleared part of her desk and sat on top of it, "The rest of you, the twelve or thirteen of you, are either too scared to raise your hands or you were actually listening to the conversation, and I'm pretty sure it was the first one."

Lovino tapped a closed fist against the desktop, still not sure about the general direction the conversation was going.

"So how about we find something else to talk about?" Mrs. Rose looked around the room, as if she was looking for ideas, "Anyone got anything to share? Funny story?"

Lovino's expression quickly changed to one of pure disbelief. _'Is she serious?'_ He glanced around the room. Other students were either wearing the same expression he had or were just sitting with a completely blank face. He wasn't quite sure what to say, and he certainly didn't have a funny story.

"Well…we have to talk about something. Can't just sit here in silence." Mrs. Rose looked around the room again, "No one has anything to share?"

Lovino busied himself with looking through his stack of notebooks instead, trying to find something to write in or otherwise distract himself, but found the one journal he would have used to not be there. _'I get that curiosity would have tempted him into taking it…but couldn't he_ return _it?!'_ Lovino buried his face in his hands once more.

Taking out his phone in anger, Lovino typed in a message directed towards Antonio.

 **Lovino: Odd. My journal seems to be missing. I wonder where it went.**

 **Feliciano: Oh no! Did you drop it somewhere?**

 **Lovino: No. I believe there was a thief in study hall who might have 'borrowed' it.**

 **Antonio: *best innocent face***

 **Lovino: **** you! Give me the **** thing back!**

 **Antonio: We're in class now!**

 **Feliciano: Antonio! Why would you take Lovino's journal? That's not nice!**

Lovino let out a frustrated noise before shoving the phone back in his pocket. Well. Maybe the messages would keep him from reading the journal, though something was telling him he really shouldn't get his hopes up.

"Well then how about we play a little game?" Mrs. Rose beamed at her class of (still in shock) students.

Lovino stared at her in confusion. This was not even making sense anymore. How did a math class suddenly turn into game time?

"Everybody stand up!" Mrs. Rose hopped off her desk and waved her arms around, "Up, up!"

"Oh no…" Lovino groaned but stood up as they were being told to do.

"Up on your chairs. Like so!" Mrs. Rose climbed up on top of her chair and stood perfectly without losing her balance, "Up!"

"What?" Lovino gaped at her for a moment but stepped up onto his chair. He was one of the first students who did so, the rest just stood on the floor staring at the teacher in confusion.

"Up, up!" Mrs. Rose smiled, "Those of you on the chairs, up on the desks!" She stepped up on her own desk, kicking her text book out of the way and off onto the floor.

"This is insane." Lovino looked questioningly at his desk for a moment before (very) carefully stepping up onto the top of it.

"Now! I want you to reach to the classmates around you! Those of you on the end, reach towards the person sitting next to you towards the center of the room!" Mrs. Rose smiled cheerfully.

Lovino looked hesitantly at the taller male next to him, "Um…" He reached out his hand slowly, not even sure if the person beside him was willing to go with this.

"Da." To his surprise, Ivan took his hand and reached out with his right hand to the person on his opposite side as well.

"Everyone connected? So all of you in your rows are holding each other up?" Mrs. Rose looked around the room to the best of her ability, "Now this is about balance and trust in your classmates!"

"Oh no." Lovino instantly hung his head.

"Person on the left, side with the windows, I want you to lean towards the wall!" Mrs. Rose motioned to the wall.

"What!" Lovino stared at her in disbelief before looking down at the floor next to his desk. It wasn't that much of a drop but from up here it looked like it was, "Uh…"

"Go ahead and lean. I will not let you hit floor." Ivan smiled.

"Thanks." Lovino winced but slowly leaned towards the left, silently sending up prayers to anyone who might be listening to not let him fall.

"Just relax, don't let your legs hold you there, that's what your classmates are for!" Mrs. Rose beamed, "Act like you're injured or a dead weight and falling!"

"HA." Lovino scoffed. Ivan wasn't even budging on his desk, even with Lovino leaning away from him, "This is seriously uncomfortable."

"No worries. I am fine with this." Ivan continued smiling.

Lovino let out a hesitant laugh and leaned slightly moreso to the left. _I wasn't referring to you, man. I was referring to ME. How is anyone supposed to relax?_

"Just let your muscles relax~" Mrs. Rose leaned over to her right to see how the students on the end were doing, "Oh, first row, you might want to help him out there, he looks like he's about to fall!"

"This is just ridiculous…" Lovino sighed. He was leaning over as far as he could go over the edge of his desk with Ivan's unwavering hold.

"This is easy." Ivan smiled cheerfully.

Mrs. Rose nodded happily, "Okay, now students on the left, lift your leg closest to the wall over the edge of your desk! Your classmates should still be able to keep you upright."

"Ha. Ha. Ha." Lovino laughed through gritted teeth and shifted slightly in his footsteps so one leg was just barely over the edge, touching the side of his desk, "This is stupid."

"I am not having problem holding you." The smile never wavered off Ivan's face.

Lovino leaned forward slightly to look at the person on Ivan's right side and found that they weren't even straining themselves. Just standing as normal. Lovino looked back at Ivan. _'How strong is this guy? I know I don't weigh a lot but…'_

"Good job!" Mrs. Rose nodded, "Now person to the right of the one leaning, I want you all to lift one foot off your desk! Remaining students, make sure to support your classmates!"

Ivan picked one boot off the desk without hesitation. Lovino wavered a bit, but (thankfully) didn't fall. Now the other students in their row were fighting a bit.

"This is fun." Ivan laughed.

"Someone could get hurt doing this!" Lovino protested.

"We will not get hurt so long as rest of people in our row hold us here." Ivan turned his head to look at their classmates.

"Right." Lovino grumbled, "In the meantime, I will curse at the teacher's idiocy in suddenly deciding to do this. What is the point."

"The last row standing gets a prize!" Mrs. Rose called, "Third person, foot up!"

"Oh now this is actually crazy." Lovino felt himself lean farther to the left, but Ivan's grip pulled him back up straight again, "Thanks."

"You are welcome." Ivan looked at him for a moment, "You were one of students on stage at end of last year, da? One of students who did a fake suicide?"

"Uh, yeah." Lovino glanced at the taller male, "One of four."

"I thought so. I remember speech you gave." Ivan looked back up towards the front of the room, "Your friends were amusing while you four were gone. They were keeping things very interesting during class."

"So I heard." Lovino shook his head in disbelief, "I can't believe they pulled what the principal called the biggest prank in this school's history…"

"That was hilarious!" Ivan laughed, "Their faces as they were running past our classrooms!"

Lovino sighed. Mental note was made to inform Antonio that he had a fan of their idiotic plan of last year that ended up (somehow) not on their school record.

* * *

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Grammar and chapter combining.


	24. Gilbert Woke Up

Moving right along.

* * *

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"What exactly _were_ you thinking?" Mr. Smith glowered at Matthew, who had been yanked down to the office as soon as he had opened the door.

"Eh, I wasn't really. Spur of the moment." Matthew shrugged and swung his legs back and forth under the chair. His gaze wandered around the room as the only response he got was a loud sigh.

"Are you aiming to have a school record like your friend?" Mr. Smith asked finally, rubbing his temple with a look of annoyance.

"That wasn't my intention." Matthew smiled cheerfully, "But this makes for a much more interesting school year."

"Right. You've already been down here once today for tardiness to your first class. And now we have disturbing the rest of the school to deal with." Mr. Smith shuffled some papers around his desk, before shaking his head, "You will be serving detention after school."

Matthew nodded for a moment, "Oh, and Mr. Specks sent me down here. Before I went on the announcement system."

"What for?" Mr. Smith gaped at him.

"Eh, I was laughing during class." Matthew let out a light laugh remembering the conversation.

"What were you laughing for?" Mr. Smith raised an eyebrow.

"Cruz being called sassy." Matthew smiled cheerfully.

Mr. Smith buried his face in both hands and let out a long sigh, "Try and contain your humor until after class next time, please. Just serve the detention for the public announcement. Room 300 after the last bell rings."

"Yes, sir." Matthew stood up and hastily made to leave, thankful it wasn't much more than a detention.

"Did you mean what you said?" Mr. Smith asked, just before Matthew opened the door.

"Eh?" Matthew turned his head to look at the principal in confusion, "About what?"

Mr. Smith's look could easily have been read as You-Know-Damn-Well-What, but he clarified it out loud anyhow, "You and your friends are still having problems?"

"Anyone who would have looked at those tests would have known that." Matthew shrugged it off, "And honestly, four days in a therapy building, isn't going to change much of anything. Yes, we all realized a bit before we came back, but that doesn't mean we're normal by any standards. If anything, we might have realized how far off of normal we really are." Matthew opened the door, "But we're doing fine on our own, thank you." He slipped out before the principal could say anything else and let the door shut behind him.

"You might as well wait until class is over." The secretary peered up over her desk.

"Yes, ma'am." Matthew sat himself down in the same chair Cruz had been sitting in earlier and let his eyes roam around the office. Waiting until her head was bent back down over some paperwork, Matthew pulled out his phone and smiled.

 **Matthew: Detention after school for me. :P**

 **Cruz: Serves you right after that stunt.**

 **Alfred: XD Never thought Mattie would get detention before Cruz this year!**

 **Cruz: What the **** was that supposed to mean?**

 **Antonio: Guys, music class is so much fun! :D All we did was get an assignment and the rest of the class is free time!**

 **Lovino: Good for you. Matthew, I am going to hit you next time I see you.**

 **Matthew: Eh?**

 **Lovino: Teacher decided class was mundane and we should play a game instead. I hate this game.**

 **Antonio: Whatcha playing?**

 **Lovino: Lean off the desk and pray the student next to you doesn't let go.**

 **Antonio: O_O**

 **Cruz: That sounds like fun. *not***

 **Feliciano: I don't like running during gym! Is this all we're ever going to do?**

 **Alfred: One more lap and we're done! We can do this!**

 **Feliciano: I can't run this fast!**

* * *

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.

Gilbert had half-rolled his eyes at the sight of Regis, Ludwig, and Roderich ( _'Seriously, why is Roddy even here?'_ ) all sitting in the room. After some thought, he had come to the conclusion they must have been here the majority of the night, because Regis was fast asleep.

"Did you seriously skip school to sit here?" Gilbert glanced over at Roderich, making the two jump in shock at hearing a voice.

"Gilbert! Geez!" Roderich hissed, "And for your information, it does not qualify as _skipping_."

"We were wondering when you would wake up though." Ludwig glanced back and forth between the two, "You've been asleep since last night."

Gilbert stuck his tongue out in response, "Well excuse me for being tired."

"It wasn't just being tired that got you here." Roderich scowled, "Why must you be so stubborn all the time?"

"By now people expect it." Gilbert grinned.

Roderich heaved a heavy sigh while Ludwig got a look of discomfort across his face.

Regis blinked a couple times, trying to register what was going on before he realized Gilbert was the voice he had heard talking, "Oh." He sat up straighter and looked at the other two occupants in the room, "When did I fall asleep?"

"Not that long ago." Roderich glanced at him, "Maybe a little less than an hour."

Regis shook his head before looking back at Gilbert, "Feeling any better than last night?"

"Ja, loads." Gilbert rolled his eyes, sarcasm quite evident in his voice, "How far away is Arthur's room?" He glanced over at Roderich and Ludwig.

"Only four rooms down." Roderich blinked, "…Wait. How did you know he was in the hospital?"

"Hm?" Gilbert tilted his head, "Oh. For some reason I thought I heard his voice when I was asleep, I wonder if I can be moved over there…" He shrugged off-handishly and turned his gaze towards the window, squinting at the bright light outside, "What time is it anyway?"

Roderich tilted his head in confusion, "About time for second bell to be ending I believe…oh, no, ten more minutes, it's five after nine." He took out his phone to glance at the time and messaged that Gilbert was awake.

 **Roderich: For those who were waiting, Gilbert is awake now.**

 **Arthur: Oh that's good news!**

 **Roderich: May I ask how Gilbert knew you would be in the hospital?**

 **Arthur: …**

 **Roderich: He asked when he can be moved to your room.**

 **Matthew: Eh, I think we're doing pretty badly at this.**

 **Arthur: Oh well. 20/20 hindsight.**

 **Allistor: The hell are you talking about?**

 **Arthur: nothing.**

 **Matthew: Oh look!**

 **Cruz: Shut it.**

 **Alfred: Are you both down there again?**

 **Cruz: I was being 'sassy' to the teacher again.**

 **Matthew: I shall call you sassy Cruz from now on.**

 **Cruz: You want to die don't you.**

 **Matthew: :)**

"Ardrich and mutti should be coming soon, right?" Ludwig leaned back in his chair to look around Roderich at his dad.

"Ja. Soon as Ardrich wakes up." Regis gazed down at the watch on his wrist before taking out his phone, "Should try calling to see if they're up yet."

Gilbert rolled his eyes again and continued staring out the window. Definite last thing he needed in this room was an additional stiff. His eyes roamed around the room, mentally counting the number of tiles in the ceiling, "This brings back memories."

"Ja. Of the last time I was sitting with you in the hospital." Regis glanced up from his phone at Gilbert, half-glaring, before looking down at the phone again.

"You could've left." Gilbert stuck his tongue out at Regis, "And it was much more awesome last time with Lovino, Mattie, and Arthur all in the same room."

Regis just shook his head and refrained from making a comment while Roderich couldn't help but laugh. Ludwig smiled a bit and glanced over at Regis, still waiting to hear if his other brother was up yet.

"I can imagine it was anything but quiet." Roderich smiled and leaned forward slightly so he wasn't obstructing Ludwig's line of sight.

"What was that supposed to mean?" Gilbert sulked, "We were quiet! We all had that stupid speech we had to give looming over our heads. Nothing like giving a speech first thing in the damn morning."

Ludwig made a face at the mention of the speeches, "Well the four of you certainly left an impression with those…"

"Did we?" Gilbert perked up a bit.

"Yeah. Too bad all speakers can't apologize beforehand and try and keep the humor intact." Roderich sighed heavily, "I wouldn't mind them nearly as much."

Gilbert grinned, "I would totally volunteer to speak up again, but I don't think Smithy will let me anywhere near a microphone anymore."

"Not after saying ta-da." Ludwig responded, an amused expression on his face.

"Meh, Arthur said he'd buy me lunch if I said that. It was totally worth it." Gilbert grinned, "Why is he here anyway?"

"Went in front of a car." Roderich said flatly, "Fortunately it was in the school zone and not going very fast."

Gilbert just nodded quietly. He didn't look like he believed what Roderich was saying and instead redirected his attention towards the window once more.

"What?" Roderich's brow furrowed a bit at Gilbert's reaction, "That's what he said."

"Ja, I know. I just don't recall how many cars actually follow the posted speed limit." Gilbert let his eyes wander up towards the ceiling, "Same number of tiles…"

"Stop counting the ceiling tiles!" Regis snapped, "Mein gott, you did that the last time I was sitting here!"

"What else am I supposed to do? Obviously I can't sleep, not tired and there's three people sitting in here!" Gilbert gestured to all three of them, glaring at Regis, "And I already counted, so there." He stuck his tongue out again and returned his gaze to the ceiling, counting the miniature lights instead.

Roderich patted Regis sympathetically on the shoulder, "At least he's not feigning sleep to avoid talking."

"This is true." Regis looked back down at the phone, "Und I'm not getting a response, they must still be in bed."

"How are they…I know Ardrich has a hard time getting up, but isn't mutti normally up by this time?" Ludwig leaned back in his chair, "Maybe she's driving and Ardrich doesn't have his phone on."

"That could be." Regis nodded.

Gilbert rolled his eyes. Number of lights was ten. _'Maybe I should count how many times they say something incredibly stupid. Ardrich always has the damn phone on. With that annoying ringtone.'_

Roderich looked back and forth between Ludwig and Regis, "…I thought Ardrich always had his phone on? Isn't he normally texting on it at any hour of the day?"

Gilbert smirked. _'One point for Roddy.'_

Regis made a face, "Okay, so they're not up yet?"

Ludwig sighed, "Maybe I should try calling?"

"Well if they're not up they're not going to answer their cell phones." Roderich looked back at Ludwig.

 _'Two points for Roddy.'_

"They might wake up to the ringtone." Regis commented.

"No offense to him meant, but I've tried that before when we're leaving the lunchroom and Ardrich is still asleep. It doesn't work." Roderich sighed.

 _'Three points…he has Ardrich's number?'_ Gilbert glanced over at Roderich.

"Ja, well." Ludwig took out his own phone, "What's with all the status updates?"

"Any word on anything Matthew said yet?" Roderich leaned over to glance at the messages.

"No…" Ludwig frowned.

Gilbert blinked a couple times. _'The heck did he do.'_

"Oh, Matthew apparently hijacked the announcement system at the school and was talking on it. But no one's repeated what he said." Roderich glanced over at Gilbert, seeing the look of confusion.

Gilbert burst into fits of laughter, "What, they don't even lock the door?"

"Apparently not." Ludwig sighed, "Oh. He got detention."

"He should be happy that's all he got!" Roderich fumed.

"And Cruz is apparently also in the office for the second time." Ludwig raised an eyebrow.

Roderich made a face, "Those two are just a bad influence on each other, I swear…"

"Roma's a far worse influence." Regis scoffed, "What kind of counselor says that a student speaker who wasn't supposed to be there was amusing?"

"An awesome one~!" Gilbert grinned.

"I wonder what he was saying…" Roderich tilted his head, "It doesn't say at all…I guess I'll just ask Matthew later if he's allowed online at all."

"Principal doesn't call home on first offense." Gilbert commented, "I doubt he's going to be grounded unless Alfred says something about it."

"He'll probably still be _laughing_ about it." Ludwig turned his head towards the door as Myla and Ardrich came in, "Morning."

"Sorry…woke up and saw the text messages and realized we had overslept…" Myla pulled her hairbrush out of her purse and instantly started brushing her bedhead.

"You didn't even…" Ludwig started but decided not to finish the sentence. Both of them were still in their pajamas which had answered his question.

"You could have gotten dressed!" Roderich protested, "You didn't have to come straight over looking like that!"

Gilbert raised an eyebrow at the state of the two of them before shaking his head.

"Go home and change!" Regis waved at both of them.

"We're here now! We might as well stay!" Myla pouted, skipping past Ludwig and Roderich to plop down in the empty chair to the left of Regis.

"Well this is uncomfortable." Roderich whispered.

Ludwig smiled slightly, "Sorry."

* * *

.

.

Antonio tapped his pencil on the desk, glancing down at the assignment he had, before looking back at the journal on the corner of his desk. He had already read four of the entries at the beginning of the journal but had to stop when the teacher had started talking.

"…" Antonio looked back at the paper, confused as to how to even approach it. "Maybe I should have stayed in science class…"

 **Antonio: Anyone else taking music?**

 **Feliciano: I am!**

 **Antonio: Good luck when you get this assignment then.**

 **Felicano: …Huh? What's wrong with it?**

 **Antonio: …I have no words for it.**

 **Lovino: Well that's saying something.**

 **Antonio: Loviiiiiii, you're so mean! D:**

 **Lovino: I'm not the journal thief.**

 **Antonio: *pout***

Antonio laid his phone on his lap and rested his chin on the desk, staring at the paper, "What to do…" He frowned for a moment, trying to concentrate on ideas, but there were none even coming close to forming. "I can't think of anything~" Antonio cried.

 ** _Assignment: Write a paper on where you find music on a day-to-day basis. If you need help with this, remember music doesn't always have to be coming from speakers, music can be found in many different forms._**

"That doesn't even make sense." Antonio hit his head against the desk several times.

* * *

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Grammar updates, moved stuff around, chapter combining.


	25. Matthew's Bad Day

Moving on!

* * *

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.

Alfred sat at the table by himself. He was more than a little tempted to just take a nap and try and sleep through the entire study hall class, but his mind kept wandering to different topics. He lifted his head up a little off the table to look at the wall of needlework displays. Getting up, Alfred wandered over and began looking over them again. He tilted his head at Arthur's, reading over it a couple times.

"…" Alfred frowned and tilted his head in the other direction, still thinking.

"What's up?" Miss Summers popped up beside him, smiling cheerfully.

"…he's still depressed…?" Alfred kept his voice down, talking moreso to himself than the teacher at his shoulder.

"Arthur?" Miss Summers leaned forward, "It would seem that way, yes. But if it's any consolation, he might not be aware of it himself, but he does seem to be speaking out more. Maybe it just helps when there's someone talking to him~"

Alfred looked at her with a blank face, "…Are we being that loud?"

"A bit." Miss Summers laughed, "Even when you two are texting on your phones, you still argue with one another out loud, it's quite comical actually!"

Alfred's face turned red and he quickly looked away again. He half-mumbled out a weak apology before trying to distract his attention to something else.

"It's okay, it's okay." Miss Summers patted him on the shoulder.

* * *

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.

Matthew stared straight forward at the blackboard. Thankfully it seemed that no one else had any idea of who was talking over the speaker, so the teacher wasn't glaring at him, and he wasn't getting any stares from students. _'I don't even want to pretend to be listening to this.'_ Matthew slumped back in his seat, trying to focus as much as he could despite the uninteresting lecture they were getting.

"…and anyone who receives a high score on their pop quiz will be allowed to accompany the seniors on their class trip to the science museum." Mrs. Specks announced, picking up a stack of papers.

 _'Oh that sounds like it's so much fun.'_ Matthew sunk further in his seat. Not only had he not been listening, now he was going to fail a pop quiz. At least he didn't have to go to the museum.

"No notes allowed on this." Mrs. Specks walked around to each desk, laying a paper down, "And to minimize any risk of cheating, each test paper has different questions."

Matthew gaped at her as she continued by after putting a paper down. _'Minimize cheating? Really?'_ He looked down at the paper and frowned a moment. Some of it seemed pretty familiar at least. "Well maybe I won't fail after all." Matthew smiled slightly and began writing in answers. He could hear whispering just at the right distance that he couldn't quite make out what the person was saying.

Matthew looked up in confusion and saw a female classmate was looking over her shoulder at him, apparently the one who was whispering. "What?" Matthew mouthed, careful to not make a sound.

She rolled her eyes and pointed to the test, making a face as if he was supposed to know what she was trying to say.

Matthew looked down at his own test in confusion. He had written his name and the date already, so that couldn't be what she was trying to say. Matthew looked back up at her and kept the same expression of confusion on his face.

"First. Question." She hissed again, looking more than a little annoyed now.

Matthew just stared at her. Apparently she hadn't been listening if she was asking for the answers. "The questions are different on every test." He said quietly before returning his attention to his own test, hearing the angry huff of breath from her at his response.

"Blondie."

Matthew continued staring at his paper, deciding if it would be better to just ignore her rather than humor her and actually look up. He hesitated for a moment before deciding it would be best to just continue with the test.

" _Blondie_."

"My name is not blondie." Matthew retorted, glancing up only to glare at her before looking down at his test again.

"I don't know your name." She snapped.

"Not my problem." Matthew smiled and continued with the questions.

The classmate muttered under her breath and turned back towards the test, "Suddenly it occurs to me how you and Cruz get along so well."

Matthew looked up at the back of her head, "What was _that_ supposed to even mean?" His eyes flickered to Mrs. Specks, who was sitting at her desk, not even aware of the conversation that had been going back and forth.

"You both are _rude_." She hissed.

"How does repeating what the teacher said make me rude?" Matthew leaned forward slightly, "She clearly said every test paper has different questions, so even if I had told you my answer, it would have been wrong."

"You know Cruz needs anger management classes right? Maria's going to report him." She glanced over her shoulder and gave Matthew a cold smile.

Matthew returned the smile, "She doesn't have anything to report him _for_. If it's about being pushed into the aisle that was me. Not Cruz."

"He keeps-"

"Is there a problem back here?" Mrs. Specks smiled at the both of them, suddenly appearing to stand in between their desks.

Matthew looked up at the teacher, "Eh, no. I think you stopped the conversation before the problem came up."

"No problem, Mrs. Specks!"

"Somehow I doubt that. And since you both are obviously not interested in taking the test and would much rather talk to one another, you can do so down in the office." Mrs. Specks picked up both test papers.

 _'Third time.'_ Matthew sat for a moment before finally dragging his notebooks with him as he stood up, "Yes ma'am."

"Mrs. Specks, I've never even been to the principal's office before!" Maria's friend protested, not moving from her seat.

"I don't care, Rachel. Move it." Mrs. Specks pointed to the door, "You two can talk to the principal about what was so important to discuss in the middle of a test!"

Rachel stuttered for a moment before stalking out of the room after Matthew, "Way to go, blondie!"

"Oh this is my fault now?" Matthew glared at Rachel, "I don't even want to hear it! You're the one who wanted me to give you answers to the test!"

"You were the one being so rude about it!" Rachel retorted.

* * *

.

.

Cruz stared at the board with a mixture of disbelief and horror on his face. Upon entering he had been more than tempted to leave again, and now he was wishing he had done so.

"Today we are not going to be continuing our lesson that had been originally planned, we are instead going to broaden our minds!" Mrs. Rose beamed at her class of dumbstruck students, "I want everyone to move your chairs back from your desks to a comfortable distance and sit with your legs crossed!"

First sign that had tipped Cruz off on the class going wrong was that the teacher's desk had been completely empty of all the papers and books on top of it that were normally there. Now he knew why. Mrs. Rose had seated herself on top of her desk like she had instructed the class to do on their chairs, and was waiting patiently for everyone to get themselves comfortable.

"Today we are going to be attempting to broaden our minds. I want us all to close our eyes and imagine whatever makes you calm…" Mrs. Rose closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "Just relax…"

"Question." Cruz asked, not in any mood whatsoever to be doing this, "What are we supposed to do if there isn't something that makes us calm? And I sure as hell am not relaxing."

"Close your eyes. And try." Mrs. Rose opened one eye to glare at him before closing it again, "Now…imagine a nice wooded forest…"

"Oh geez." Cruz rolled his eyes. He had no intention of ever closing his eyes in this class, and would rather make comments instead.

"Cruz, are you even trying?" Mrs. Rose asked, keeping her eyes shut.

"Not even a little." Cruz smirked, "You can have fun with your trip to relaxation. I'll just sit here and watch."

There were some snickers in response to that comment, making Mrs. Rose open one eye again, "Well, now. How can you talk like that if you're not even willing to try? Just try it once, and if you don't reach the same level of calm then you can make the comments. Now back to that wooded area…there is a nice lake in front of us…use your imaginations to fill in the darkness."

"Better watch out for that boat." Cruz whispered.

Mathias let out a stifled laugh, trying to keep himself from falling off the desk, "Hush it. I'm trying to concentrate here!"

"The call of the wilderness all around you…from the chirping of birds to the gentle sound of the cicadas…" Mrs. Rose let her shoulders relax, unaware of Cruz disrupting his classmate.

"From the gentle sound of the cicadas to the sound of me getting sick. What kind of crap is this." Cruz scoffed, crossing his arms and scowling.

Mathias's shoulders began shaking from controlled laughter, "You're ruining my vision, man!"

"Can you feel the calm~" Mrs. Rose breathed quietly.

"I can feel something and it ain't calm." Cruz shook his head, "This is unbelievable."

Mathias let out a short burst of laughter, quickly clamping one hand over his mouth to stifle the rest of it.

"Is there a problem in the classroom? I keep hearing laughing." Mrs. Rose opened one eye and glanced around suspiciously.

"None whatsoever." Cruz waved cheerfully, "Just enjoying your wonderful state of _calm._ "

"There is a tone in your voice that makes me doubt that. Anyway," Mrs. Rose moved herself around on the desk a little and closed her eye once more, "Above you…you can hear the call of a rare bird…"

"Oh this just keeps getting better and better." Cruz leaned forward slightly, resting his arms on his legs to support himself.

"With that rare bird, you know in that instant that you are miles from civilization…the area is pristine…untouched by mankind…" Mrs. Rose relaxed.

"Obviously not if we're standing here." Cruz snorted, "What the hell are we, a herd of moose?"

Mathias doubled over laughing in response.

"Cruz. Would you kindly stop disrupting your classmates?" Mrs. Rose heaved a heavy sigh, but didn't open her eyes, "I know that laughter is from your corner of the room."

"You're not even looking. How can you be sure?" Cruz looked at her with a tone of mock indignation.

"I can be pretty sure it's your corner." Mrs. Rose opened on eye and saw Mathias was still doubled over, "It's your corner."

"Well sure, now you know it is. At least look before accusing me." Cruz smirked.

* * *

.

.

Lovino blinked a couple times, attempting to stay awake while the teacher kept talking. Clearly Mr. Specks had remained unaffected by Matthew's announcement, not that he was really surprised. His gaze shifted slightly to Feliciano.

Feliciano was sound asleep, still with his head up, but his eyes were closed. Apparently he was dead to the world, because no amount of whispering or jabbing would wake him up (Lovino had tried).

Lovino rolled his eyes. _'He better hope the teacher doesn't look up from that damn textbook. Seriously we can read this on our own, why does he have to read it?'_ Lovino rested his chin on the desk and scowled. At least if he had his journal he could be doing _something_ , but the stupid Spanish bastard had yet to give it back (didn't help he didn't see Antonio in the hallway at all). _'I wonder if he read it at all…'_ Lovino rolled his eyes.

* * *

.

.

Roderich leaned against the wall in Arthur's room, deciding a hasty exit from Gilbert's room seemed to be the best remedy to the slight embarrassment he felt in reaction to Myla's state of dress. Allistor, Roderich noticed, seemed to be slightly calmer than he had on the phone and was staring out the window. Arthur seemed to be asleep (or at least his eyes were closed). _'Maybe I should say something… I'm not even sure Allistor knows I'm standing here.'_

"…Is he asleep?" Roderich asked quietly, jumping a few inches when Allistor let out a startled yell.

"What the heck!" Allistor yelled, "Don't sneak up on people like that!"

"I've _been_ standing here, for your information. Well even if Arthur had been sleeping, he probably isn't now, thanks to you." Roderich scowled, gathering up the remainder of his dignity, "And I didn't try to startle you."

"You sure as hell did a good job of it." Allistor glared at Roderich, "And I don't care how long you were standing there, you still snuck up!"

"I'm not arguing about this." Roderich huffed, crossing his arms. Still, despite the yelling, Arthur hadn't opened his eyes or even moved at all.

"And he sleeps like a rock." Allistor grumbled, mimicking Roderich's actions, but he looked more like he was sulking than anything else.

"I noticed." Roderich raised an eyebrow, "He seemed to be more of a light sleeper to me for some reason. Maybe it's because he can hear people talking in class even in whispers."

"That's because he's concentrating then." Allistor smirked, "And brother's always been a hard sleeper. I'm amazed he can even wake up when his alarm clock goes off."

Roderich smiled, but he froze when he saw Arthur open both eyes. "…" Roderich debated whether or not to tell Allistor (who was currently facing Roderich) that Arthur had apparently woke up (or was awake all along), but Arthur hit him with the pillow, solving Roderich's dilemma.

"I heard that." Arthur scowled, returning his pillow to underneath his head again, "That was rude. If I didn't hear the alarm clock go off, none of us would make it to school on time, because you two certainly don't get up!"

Allistor rolled his eyes and rubbed his head where the pillow had made contact, "We go to bed later than you, I don't even want to hear it."

"Well try going to bed earlier on school nights!" Arthur retorted.

"…" Roderich watched the argument go back and forth. _'And here I was thinking they were finally getting along…silly me.'_

"Are you trying to sound like mother?" Allistor looked indignantly at Arthur, "You're doing a fine job."

"Shut up." Arthur's eyes narrowed, "Mother would be giving us both an earful right now, and you know it."

"She'd be giving us a lot more than an earful." Allistor slumped in his chair, "And if you put father and Reilly on there with her, we'd both be deaf."

"Me moreso than you. You're just skipping school, I jumped in front of a car and got myself hospitalized." Arthur laid his head back against the pillow.

Roderich made a face, "If you're going to word it like that, I'm not entirely sure your family is going to be the _only_ ones giving you a lecture. Alfred's probably having a fit."

Arthur rolled his eyes in response and sunk down in the bed a little, "He can deal with it. I'm sure he can quite handle going through school without my presence."

"Oh sure. He's in study hall by himself." Roderich smiled slightly, "I'm sure he's handling it perfectly well. That's probably why there's numerous status messages, and all from him."

Allistor smirked at Arthur before looking at Roderich, "We haven't even looked at our phones, what's he saying anyway?"

"Something about it being quiet and rather boring." Roderich responded, teasing Arthur slightly, "And apparently the teacher decided he needed company because she was talking to him for a while."

"It can't be that quiet then. That teacher is anything but quiet." Arthur grumbled.

Allistor let out a short laugh but stopped when his phone started ringing, "Hm? Hello?" He held the phone up to his ear for a second but instantly held it out at arms length when the yelling started, "…Guess who." Allistor glared at Arthur, "Guess."

"The options are rather limited to choose from. Seeing as how it's a female voice, I would have to say mother." Arthur smiled, "She found out fast."

"Apparently the school called our parents when neither of us showed up for class." Allistor made a face, "Mother, I am not listening to a lecture on my phone."

"Oh I'm sure that's going to go over well." Roderich rolled his eyes and shook his head with a sigh.

Arthur pulled out the pillow from under his head and promptly pressed it to his face, "You're not even supposed to use a phone in the hospital, Allistor."

"Oh, then I have a valid reason to hang up." Allistor grinned. There was an indignant cry that could be roughly translated into 'don't you dare' before Allistor disconnected the call.

"She's going to have both our heads." Arthur spoke flatly but smiled against his pillow.

"Now you two are both in about the same amount of trouble though." Roderich commented.

Allistor just shrugged Roderich's comment off. There was a slight scowl on his face, "If you count Reilly on there, we're in a crapload of trouble."

"I doubt Reilly will skip school to chew both our heads off." Arthur commented, pulling the pillow off his face, "So with any luck, mother's lecture will be long over before he gets here."

"…When have we ever had good luck?" Allistor's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at his younger brother.

Arthur rolled his eyes and pressed the pillow back up against his face again.

"Well that answer was obvious." Roderich laughed.

* * *

.

.

"You made Roddy leave." Gilbert pouted at his mother.

"I woke up, I came over. I did not take the time to dress, I'm sorry if I embarrassed anyone." Myla crossed her arms and sulked.

Regis patted her on the shoulder in a form of comfort, "You could just go home and change clothes, then come back…"

Ludwig gave Ardrich a strange look, "I cannot believe you even went outside in the same clothes you went to bed in. I haven't even seen you come out of your room in your pjs."

"Someone was in a hurry this morning." Ardrich looked at Ludwig crossly.

Gilbert rolled his eyes and looked towards the ceiling. Clearly not getting any sleep this time around in the hospital. _'I wonder how Arthur is doing…'_ He turned his head towards the stand and spotted the cell phone Regis had laid down a few minutes earlier. Watching the blonde, Gilbert reached over carefully and pulled the phone across the stand, holding it in both hands triumphantly when he had gotten it on the bed. _'Yay!'_

 **Cruz: Math is really quiet without the annoying german blonde. Too bad the teacher can't shut up.**

 **Alfred: XD That bad?**

 **Lovino: Oh I hope she's making you do something other than the lesson plan.**

 **Cruz: She is. And the fact that you were hoping for that annoys me a bit. Something about broadening our minds using our imaginations.**

 **Alfred: is it working?**

 **Cruz: How the hell should I know? I'm not doing it.**

 **Lovino: Oh geez.**

Gilbert grinned and continued to scroll down through the unread status updates, barely paying any attention at all to the family members by his bed.

"Well if you had gotten up earlier you could have gotten dressed!" Myla argued, leaning forward to look around Regis, "I don't want to hear it from you!"

"I don't want to hear it from either of you." Ludwig sighed, "Can we get along? I'm sorry I said anything."

"Ja, really." Regis echoed Ludwig's sigh and pulled on Myla's arm a bit, "Calm down, calm down."

 **Antonio: I miss Roderich in this gym class. Can someone shut our drill instructor up?**

 **Cruz: I wonder if he's going to make me run extra laps tomorrow. I didn't even think of it.**

 **Matthew: Eh. This is not my day.**

 **Cruz: ?**

 **Matthew: Well I met one of souphead's friends.**

 **Cruz: Oh yippee.**

 **Alfred: Souphead?**

 **Lovino: Who the heck is souphead?**

 **Cruz: Don't ask.**

 **Matthew: Aaaaaand…it didn't go over so well.**

 **Cruz: ._. Argument?**

 **Matthew: That's putting it mildly. In the office again.**

 **Cruz: what the hell. That's the third **** time now!**

 **Alfred: MATTIE.**

Gilbert raised both eyebrows. _'What…it's only third bell…he was down in the office every single class so far? What the hell kind of day is he having?!'_ He glanced up towards the other four in the room, only to find Myla and Ardrich were apparently glaring at one another, with Regis and Ludwig sitting in between them looking rather uncomfortable about the situation.

"If you slept through your alarm, then you shouldn't be snapping at me about my sleeping through mine!" Ardrich huffed.

"You should have it in your mental system by now to be awake when your alarm clock goes off! It was set to go off for school, so you would have slept right through your first few classes!" Myla continued the argument, despite Regis's attempts to get them both to stop.

"I think Roderich had the right idea in leaving." Ludwig made a face and looked towards the door, debating whether or not to go to Arthur's room instead.

"Ja, but since we all _do_ live under the same roof, we should at least make the attempt to feign getting along and stay in the same room." Gilbert pointed out flatly, though he was more than tempted to run from the room (if he was even able to, he hadn't tried moving yet).

"…" Regis stared at Gilbert, "What medication are you even on at the moment?"

"Oh shut up." Gilbert scowled in response, "I said feign getting along, I did not say make an attempt _to_ get along."

"People come in hospitals in worse outfits than pajamas, so I see no problem with us being dressed the way we are." Myla slumped down in her chair, arms still crossed.

* * *

.

.

Grammar updates again.


	26. Food fight and an actual fight

Moving on. Some added dialogue between Arthur's parents

* * *

.

.

 **Lunch (fourth bell)**

Cruz stood in front of the menus, glaring up at the signs, and trying to figure out what he was going to be getting. Yesterday's lunch definitely didn't suit him very well, so he was going to be avoiding that line for a little while at least.

"That was the longest lecture I have ever had to listen to." Matthew popped up beside Cruz, letting out a long sigh, "And we weren't even doing anything besides arguing."

Cruz gave him a blank look for a moment, "I'm amazed you even got here before the main lunch rush did. What did you do, text during the lecture? That probably added to the length of it."

"I don't think he even noticed. He was lecturing Rachel at that point." Matthew looked up at the menus, "…Anything that sounds more appealing than yesterday?"

"Nothing whatsoever." Cruz continued scowling at the menus. At this rate, if they didn't decide on something, they would be stuck waiting in line anyway.

"Hamburger!" Alfred skipped right by without looking at the menus, "I know what I'm getting!"

"Must be nice to have a one-track mind." Cruz scowled at the retreating blonde.

"Eh, at least as far as favorite food is concerned. I think he has more than one track in his mind though. He's probably still worried about Arthur." Matthew headed towards the doors, "I think I'll just choose a random line."

"Skipping lunch entirely would probably be more beneficial to one's health." Cruz rolled his eyes but followed along behind Matthew.

"Technically, it wouldn't." Matthew pointed out, laughing slightly.

"Our table is going to be quiet…" Antonio joined the other two in line a few minutes later, "Gilbert's not here, Arthur's not here…"

"Going to be even quieter for Lovino and Feliciano in next lunch. Roderich, Ludwig, and Ardrich all aren't here. It's just going to be the two of them." Matthew tilted his head. _'…I wonder if Lovino is going to be okay being by himself with Feliciano at lunch?'_

"I wish I had lunch with Lovi…" Antonio wilted a bit.

Cruz rolled his eyes but decided not to make a comment out loud and instead redirected his attention to the tray he was being given, "…This isn't even edible is it?"

"Shush and go." Matthew pushed against Cruz's back, smiling cheerfully at the (offended) cafeteria monitor, taking the tray, "Thank you!"

"Yeah. Thanks. A lot." Cruz grumbled, walking away.

Antonio took a tray, also smiling at the monitor before following Matthew and Cruz out, "So, what are we doing with these? Throwing them in a trashcan, what?"

Sitting down at the table, Matthew discovered Alfred was tapping his hamburger on the tray with a look of mild amusement, "Not edible."

"Edible, no. Usable for a hockey puck, yes. Do you think the school hired those cooks from that facility place?" Alfred asked, still tapping the burger patty on the tray.

"I don't see any bottles of gravy that could be mistaken for juice yet." Matthew commented, "So probably not. Budget cuts maybe."

"Then why are we paying for this?" Cruz held up the wadded piece of tinfoil (which did hold a sandwich inside).

"Food fight." Antonio said flatly.

Alfred looked over at Antonio, startled, "You're going to start one?"

"Eh, I think people can get hurt with this." Matthew picked up the roll he had received, "It's stale…"

"Throw it at souphead. Who else are we aiming for?" Cruz looked over his shoulder.

"Who cares?" Antonio laughed, "I've always wanted to start one!" He tossed his sandwich up and down a few times before glancing around, "Target spotted!" The target he was motioning to currently had a bowl of soup in front of them, "Ten points if I make it in the bowl!"

"You are not going to make that." Alfred laughed.

"I'm going to be down in the office for the fourth time today…" Matthew sighed, watching Antonio lob the sandwich.

"Food fight!" Antonio called. Much to his amazement, as well as the startled classmate, his lob landed perfectly in the soupbowl, sending soup flying over everyone that was sitting at the table, "Oh, it actually did go in."

"Smooth move." Cruz grinned, eyeing Maria who was sitting a table to the left, "Bombs away." He hurled the tinfoil wrapped sandwich.

Matthew leaned forward and watched it bounce off of Rachel's head and hit Maria, "Nice shot. You got both of them."

Cruz smirked and waved when Maria and Rachel looked at their table in surprise and annoyance, "Sorry, didn't have any soup this time."

"And there goes a salad." Matthew looked behind them to see that several people had now joined in, "Oh this is going to be fun." He picked up his roll and flung it at Rachel before she could get up, promptly knocking her off the chair, "These rolls really are hard."

"This is awesome!" Alfred cheered, setting his hamburger patty on the floor, he used a notebook to send it flying across the floor, making someone step on it and promptly land on their back, "FORE!"

"Nice idea." Cruz smirked, "Make it a flat golf ball."

"I can do that with the bun too." Alfred set the hamburger bun down and sent it flying across the floor as well, "This is fun!"

"Arthur would be having a fit right now." Matthew turned and realized Reilly was in their lunch (he really didn't know how he had missed seeing the redhead there before) and judging by the look he was getting, Arthur was going to be finding out. Oh well. "I spot a target."

"Oh, which one?" Cruz glanced around.

"Red hair and green eyes. The same eyes that are glaring at us actually." Matthew picked up his salad and smiled, "Think I can fling this that far?"

"Go for it. Ten points if the cover comes off and dumps it on his head…wait. Are you talking about Reilly?" Cruz looked at him in shock, "You're going to throw that at _him_?"

"Uh, Mattie, Reilly's not really one for the whole humor thing…" Alfred tugged on Matthew's sleeve, "That might prove to be a little dangerous."

"Who else am I going to toss a salad at?" Matthew smiled and threw the salad. Much to everyone's surprise, the lid came off halfway, "Oh."

"…" Cruz watched as Reilly (who had turned the other way when someone at his table started yelling) got a headful of salad, plus dressing. "Huh. The salad came with the dressing on it already."

"…" Matthew bit his lip, "Eh…that would explain the lack of salad dressing packets…uh oh."

Reilly, instead of making a retort with his own lunch, merely pulled out his phone and updated his status, humming quietly to himself, ignoring the salad dressing dripping down the back of his neck.

 **Reilly: Well. Seems like I just got hit with an unidentified flying salad. Now I wonder what immature moron would start a food fight?**

Matthew looked at his phone at the status message, "…I think I'm in trouble."

"Yup. Incoming!" Cruz yelped, ducking underneath the table.

Matthew turned just in time to get a sandwich to his face, thrown from Reilly judging by the condiments already on it. He pulled the bread off his face and looked at it for a moment, "Well. At least he was nice enough to give me something to throw back." Matthew leaned across the table and pulled the ketchup bottle over, "I think I'll leave a present though."

"Oh geez." Cruz peered up, "Oh. Souphead's retaliation is coming." He held up his tray as a shield and blocked the incoming bowl, "You missed!"

After leaving a pile of ketchup on the roll, Matthew flung it back at Reilly, smiling in triumph when left Reilly's face covered in red (matching the red it was already turning).

Alfred took out his phone and glanced at the messages, "…"

 **Arthur: Who the hell would start a food fight?**

 **Allistor: And they clearly don't know you very well to fling a salad at you.**

 **Alfred: …I may or may not be a victim of peer pressure.**

 **Arthur: ._. What.**

 **Alfred: Wasn't me who started it!**

 **Antonio: This is fun :D *totally started it***

 **Lovino: IDIOT.**

Antonio caught a mis-aimed salad bowl and flung it at a different target, grinning when it landed perfectly on their head, "Best day EVER!"

 **Reilly: Are we holding a funeral today?**

 **Alfred: O_O Uh, I'd rather we didn't.**

Reilly looked up at his phone with a smirk on his face, "He asked for it!" Reilly picked up the soup bowl that was abandoned on the tray next to him and turned to glare at Matthew once more.

"Uh, Mattie, incoming!" Alfred pointed hastily at Reilly.

"Ah!" Matthew turned just in time to see the bowl flying (how it managed to not spill anything was probably better left unasked) and promptly got a faceful of soup, "…"

"At least the soups here aren't hot. Keeps you from getting burned." Cruz picked up the now-empty bowl from Matthew's lap, "Ammunition."

Matthew reached behind him and picked up his soda can, shaking it for a moment before smiling cheerfully at Alfred, "This is going to be a very long day when we get home."

"Yup." Alfred nodded, "You're going to…"

Matthew flung the can at Reilly, which promptly exploded the tab off when it landed, soaking Reilly in soda, "That was payback for the soup."

 **Arthur: Reilly, try and hold your temper please!**

 **Reilly: I just got a can of soda exploded on me. By the same person who threw a salad at me.**

 **Allistor: There really is going to be a funeral.**

 **BigStiff: What the **** is going on at school? D: I wanna be there! Totally my lunch and I'm missing it! *this is totally Gilbert by the way, I stole unawesome stiff's phone***

 **Roderich: You all are going to be in the office for sure. And Gilbert, give it back.**

 **Reilly: Oh good. Then I can be in close-quarters and get even for the soda. In the meantime, I need to restock on ammunition.**

Alfred sat underneath the table, continuing to read the status updates. Out of food to throw, and not wanting to be a target, Alfred only peered up now and then to see what was going on around him.

Antonio was using his tray as a bat to counteract anything flying in his direction and send them off somewhere else (somehow hitting Maria's table every time).

Cruz flung the empty soup bowl that Reilly had originally thrown and landed it on Maria's head, "Closest thing I had to a bowl of soup for souphead."

Reilly glared at Matthew, who was smiling cheerfully at him and waving. "Anyone got something I can throw?" He looked up and down the table before spotting a bowl of ice-cream, "Gimme that." Reilly yanked it away from the stunned classmate, "You weren't eating it anyway." He hurled it at Matthew, hitting the blonde on the head, "Take that, blondie!"

"…" Matthew pulled the bowl off, shaking his head and sending melting ice cream droplets everywhere, "This clearly calls for a more fitting retort."

"Going to add something to the icecream?" Cruz asked, smirking in amusement, "You can always add the eight-legged friends that came with that salad." He pointed at the bowl that had landed on the table.

"…" Matthew picked up the salad bowl and used his spoon to dump the spiders into the ice-cream, "I'm never going to hear the end of this one." He tossed the bowl as soon as Reilly had turned his head away from them again, "Hopefully he's not scared of spiders."

"Should be interesting to read the status updates on this one." Alfred commented, still half-hiding under the table, "Uh, guys. Principal just came in."

"Terrific." Cruz rolled his eyes, distracted for a moment and getting hit in the head with something hard, "OW!" He held the side of his head, wincing, turning to glare at Maria who was smiling triumphantly.

"Maybe I should have kept the ice-cream?" Matthew leaned forward, "Are you okay?" He blinked and looked forward, hearing the yelling from Reilly upon discovery that the ice-cream had living creatures in it this time, "Oh he found them."

"Who the hell adds spiders into a food fight?" Reilly yelled.

"The spiders came with the salad! They're a viable source of protein!" Matthew called.

Alfred watched Mr. Smith walk to a microphone at the corner of the cafeteria (only used to make sudden announcements), "Uh, might want to cover your ears, guys."

"I am giving EVERYONE thirty seconds to SIT DOWN." The principal snapped into the microphone.

Matthew sunk into his chair, followed by Cruz, who was still cursing and holding the side of his head, "In trouble…"

Alfred climbed out from underneath the table and sat in his seat, hands folded on the lunchtable in front of him, "…"

"Now, will the person or persons responsible for _starting_ this display of idiocy stand up and admit it?" Mr. Smith glared around the room.

"Heh…" Antonio stood up sheepishly, "Guilty."

"All four of you can meet me down in the office. The rest of you, can clean this room up. I want it completely cleaned. I don't give a damn if the bell rings." The principal glared at the room, "The cafeteria monitors will be staying by the doors to make sure that _everything_ is cleaned."

"Well at least we don't have to clean." Antonio smiled cheerfully at the table he was standing next to.

"Yeah." Cruz glared up at him, "But why are we _all_ in trouble for what you did?"

"Office again…" Matthew whimpered.

"Charge…" Alfred yanked his books along with him and made his way to the doors, being careful not to slip on anything.

"Sorry!" Antonio apologized, following Cruz and Matthew out of the cafeteria.

"I have _never_ seen such a large group of students behave in an idiotic and immature way as to start a damned food fight in a school cafeteria!" Mr. Smith fumed, leading the way to the office, "Someone could have gotten hurt!"

"Already knew that." Cruz grumbled, still rubbing his ear, "Not too sure that no one _wasn't_ hurt."

"Or isn't going to be." Matthew pointed out quietly, "Reilly is going to be even angrier now..."

Alfred sighed and followed the principal in silence. No Arthur in study hall, and now they were all down in the office because of a food fight. Definitely no smooth-talking was going to get them out of this one.

Waiting for the principal to calm down, the four sat in the principal's office, completely silent. Matthew shivered now and then, the ice cream still leaving him with a cold feeling across his shoulders. Cruz was scowling, though he had stopped rubbing at his ear. Antonio swung his legs back and forth, covered in a mix of salad dressing and random condiments. Alfred was the only one that looked like he had completely missed lunch entirely, no food stains to be seen.

"Cruz. This is your third time down here. Matthew, this is your fourth. Antonio, you identified yourself as the start of the food fight, and Alfred…somehow you didn't get hit at all." Mr. Smith glared at the four.

Alfred just nodded his head in silent agreement. Nothing much to say in response to that. Fortunately he had avoided anything that would have sent him down here earlier (or at least wasn't caught doing anything).

"Excuse me for being here." Cruz rolled his eyes, "Still better than my previous records of being down here this early in the school year."

"Eh…alarm clock, laughing during class, and arguing during class… couldn't really help that last one. She started it." Matthew swung his legs back and forth and made a face.

"The food was inedible anyway!" Antonio protested, "What else are we supposed to do with it?"

Mr. Smith slapped the palm of his hand to his forehead at the responses he got. "Somedays…this job is really difficult. Okay then, Cruz you raise a valid point, however, I do not like seeing students down here multiple times in one day, the same can be said for you, Matthew. And if the food was inedible, then why don't you complain about it, rather than start a fight?"

"That was the complaint." Antonio blinked.

"Careful. You'll make him throw out his back with those sighs." Cruz smirked at Antonio.

"Well it's not like I'm trying to get sent down here every single class." Matthew looked at the principal appalled. "I'm not trying for a record here!"

"Well now." Mr. Smith quickly cut off any retort from Cruz that would have been fired off at Matthew, "The cafeteria is being cleaned up by your classmates, hopefully, but since you decided to start the fight, and you three did seemingly nothing to stop it from happening…" He looked at the four sitting in front of him with a stern gaze.

Cruz rolled his eyes, already sensing what was coming. _'Hello vacation.'_

"…" Matthew sunk in his seat a bit. Detention was one thing…

Antonio leaned back in his chair to look at the three sitting next to him, "My bad, guys."

"No worries. What's life without a little fun now and then." Alfred grinned.

"Your parents will be notified of the incident." Mr. Smith smiled cheerfully.

Cruz's eyebrows went up, "Are you kidding me? You're going to call our parents because of a _food fight_?"

"Oh great." Matthew buried his face in his hands, "As if the lecture from last night wasn't hard enough to sit through."

"Say what." Alfred blinked, "Waaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit! I don't wanna listen to a super-long lecture again!"

"I believe that will be sufficient." Mr. Smith smiled, "Any lecture you all get will be well deserved I'm sure. Any further visits down here will result in detention or suspensions. I advise you all to be on your best behavior the rest of the day."

"What is best behavior?" Cruz looked at Matthew, "I sure as hell don't have it."

"I'd advise you keeping your comments to yourself." Mr. Smith sighed.

"Oh sure. Keep my mouth shut the rest of the day." Cruz rolled his eyes, "I'll be back."

"I'm buying earplugs on the way home." Matthew trudged out of the office.

"I can't believe they're calling mom and dad!" Alfred protested, flailing his arms around as soon as they went into the hallway, "Not only did we not eat lunch, now we got a long afternoon ahead of us!"

"Of course you would add in something about the not eating." Cruz scowled, "Deal with it!"

Matthew sighed and took out his phone, sending another update to the questions coming from their friends about what was happening.

 **Matthew: This is going to be a long afternoon… he's calling our parents…**

 **Reilly: And you all deserve it.**

 **Allistor: Pity you all. Have fun with that.**

 **Arthur: ._. Pardon me. At the above statement, we're in no better of a situation.**

 **Allistor: …**

 **Reilly: :) *waves* Have fun with that~**

 **Alfred: This SUCKS.**

 **Antonio: I would like to deeply apologize to you three. T_T**

 **Cruz: Yeah. Thanks. A LOT.**

 **Lovino: way to go idiot.**

 **Antonio: Ahahahaha…I guess we should go help clean up.**

 **Matthew: I'm not. Phooey on that. I'm heading to my next class. :I**

 **Alfred: XD**

 **Cruz: Yeah, have fun cleaning up. Not happening.**

 **Arthur: You three are so mature.**

 **Cruz: Who's the one who went in front of a car in this conversation? I don't want to hear it from you.**

 **Arthur: What did that have to do with being mature?!**

 **Matthew: XD**

 **Ludwig: Gott… school seems to go to complete chaos when there are a number of us not there.**

 **BigStiff: Ja. Und we're missing it. *still Gilbert: Not giving the phone back, Roddy, deal***

 **Roderich: Oh now that's a display of maturity right there. *referring to the phone thief***

 **BigStiff: :P**

 **Ludwig: At least it's keeping him in good spirits. Despite…the…arguments in the room.**

 **BigStiff: Ja. Tell them to shut up.**

 **Roderich: ._.?**

 **Ludwig: Mutti and Ardrich. Still. I give you credit for trying to stop it though Gilbert.**

 **BigStiff: I give up. I'm just going to go back to sleep I think. It was more peaceful.**

 **Antonio: Hey, maybe if I take long enough to help clean I can stay in Lovi's lunch :D**

 **Lovino: GO TO YOUR **** CLASS.**

 **Antonio: *waves journal* :D**

 **Lovino: …**

 **Matthew: Home Education time…**

 **Cruz: Science. Great. Maybe I'll just skip.**

 **Alfred: What happened to best behavior?**

 **Cruz: Me?**

 **Matthew: XD**

 **Alfred: You could at least try :I**

 **Cruz: …Close enough. *made it to the door, turning around now*I tried.**

 **Matthew: XD**

 **Alfred: Oh geez.**

 **Allistor: That does not even count.**

 **Cruz: Sure it does. I tried to care and I couldn't. :)**

* * *

 **.**

 **.**

Allistor examined the ceiling tiles, purposely ignoring the lecture that was being given by relatives in the hospital room. Arthur kept hitting the back of his head against his pillow, letting out a sigh now and then. Listening to lectures was definitely the last thing he wanted to be doing right now.

"I cannot believe you two even went so far as to miss school like this!" Victoria sighed heavily, finally getting the hint that neither one was even paying much attention.

"What do you mean 'like this'?" Allistor scowled at her, "I left school and came to the hospital to visit brother."

"As much as you _don't_ want to hear this as a response. I went in front of that car on purpose." Arthur raised an eyebrow at his mother, "And this was thought out in advance, before you say otherwise."

"Why would you even think about going in front of a car on purpose?" Victoria stared at Arthur in shock, "Whatever you were trying to accomplish…"

"Was only accomplished by my going in front of a car." Arthur finished the sentence in a flat tone, "We may have different ways of solving problems than other people do, but that doesn't mean it's any worse than some other solutions that could have been thought up."

"Out of curiosity, what _were_ you trying to solve?" Aedan looked doubtfully between Allistor and Arthur, giving up on trying to stay out of the argument that was going back and forth.

Allistor just rolled his eyes and let his gaze go back to the ceiling tiles, "I was just trying to get out of school. I'm staying out of this one."

"I thought that was already brought up." Arthur stared at his parents with a blank expression, "Keeping Gilbert company while he's here in the hospital." He shrugged.

"And you couldn't just visit after school?" Victoria buried her face in her hands, shaking her head with a deep sigh.

"Obviously not." Arthur scowled, "If I'm keeping him company, then it would help if I was here longer than just a few hours. Visiting hours aren't extended that long during the week. I'm not about to apologize for what I did. The car wasn't going near fast enough to even come close to seriously injuring me, otherwise I wouldn't have gone in front of it!"

Allistor hid a smirk behind his hand. So far the most obvious thing that his brother had learned while at the therapy center was how to speak up more often (usually resulting in Arthur getting in a _lot_ more trouble).

"Well I should hope you wouldn't!" Aedan exclaimed, and judging by the expression on the face of the person next to him, their mother was about to say the same thing, "Keeping your friend company or not, that's not a justifiable reason to go in front of _any_ car!"

"Excuse me for having feelings of sympathy towards my friends then." Arthur glared at both his parents.

That response sent Allistor into a fit of laughter, and no amount of glaring from his mom or dad could stop it. _'This is so much better than being in school!'_ Allistor continued laughing.

Victoria threw up her hands in frustration and rested them both on her hips, just shaking her head in silence, staring at the wall. Aedan hit the palm of his hand to his forehead, echoing his wife's sigh.

Arthur raised an eyebrow at Allistor, "What was so funny about what I said?"

Allistor just shook his head and tried to keep the laughing under control but ended up losing it again when he saw the frustrated expressions on his parents' faces, "You gotta admit…" Allistor smirked at his parents, "He _is_ talking more."

Arthur rolled his eyes, "Thanks for noticing." _'I'm glad_ someone _thinks so.'_

"That's about the only good thing I've noticed so far." Victoria continued shaking her head, "If you leave out him staying in his bedroom."

"You let me know when immature idiots stop fighting amongst one another for the tv remote and I'll come out." Arthur shot a glare at Allistor, referring to his brothers constant arguing.

"I had dibs on that remote." Allistor looked offended for a minute, "How rude."

"…" Aedan just exchanged glances with his wife and they both let out a long sigh, "Waiting for everyone to stop arguing is guaranteeing you not coming out of your room."

"Isn't that such a shame." Arthur rolled his eyes in sarcasm.

"Careful. I'll bolt your door shut when you're not in there." Allistor grinned.

"Does Reilly know you still have that journal from Home Education last year?" Arthur returned the smile.

Allistor's face took one of pure horror and he leaned backwards away from Arthur, "I feel threatened!"

"…" Victoria looked back and forth between her two sons, "…Speaking of waiting for people to stop arguing…"

"That was a friendly warning." Arthur raised his eyebrows, "Who's arguing?"

"You call that a warning?" Allistor exclaimed, "You don't even know where it is, so there." He crossed his arms and huffed.

"Want to bet on that?" Arthur looked at Allistor, keeping an innocent expression on his face.

"…" Allistor stared at his younger brother for a couple minutes, "…No."

"You would have lost." Arthur smiled cheerfully and looked back to his parents.

"If you two are quite through…" Aedan glanced warily between the two, "Why is your friend even in the hospital?" He looked back at Arthur.

"…" Arthur hesitated, not really sure how to respond, "I…don't actually know."

"And you knew he was in the hospital?" Mrs. Kirkland raised one eyebrow, "How?"

Arthur's face grew hot, "…He wasn't at school…and neither were his brothers?"

"You still can't lie worth crap though." Allistor said under his breath.

"Shut it." Arthur glared at Allistor.

"Well after yesterday's events, that wouldn't really surprise me that they weren't in school. Maybe they had just decided to take a day to spend some time together." Victoria looked at her son doubtfully.

"If you knew him you wouldn't be saying that." Arthur smiled, "Gilbert would have run out the door."

Allistor burst out laughing again.

"Well that's something you two have in common then." Victoria shook her head with a sigh.

"I don't _run_ out of the room." Arthur scowled, "Gilbert would."

"Aye, he probably would. I can see him doing that." Allistor grinned.

"Fine then, maybe his parents were forcing them to spend time together as a family." Aedan spoke up.

"You weren't thinking of _my_ parents when you said that, were you?" Victoria leaned forward to peer at Aedan's face.

Allistor raised an eyebrow, "The thought had to have come from somewhere, mother. And they are kinda pushy."

"He still would have run out." Arthur said flatly, interrupting the conversation before his dad got stuck in an argument, "But I'll just pretend that's not a valid response. Roderich wasn't in school this morning either. The only time he misses school is when something happens."

Allistor held a hand over his own mouth, trying to suppress the fits of laughter that were threatening to come out again. The looks on their parents' faces was definitely well worth any lecture he would be getting for skipping school. _'Oh this is_ priceless. _'_

"What are you expecting me to say?" Arthur looked between his mother and father with a look of exasperation, "That we were planning on all being here at the same time? That he got himself hospitalized on purpose? Do you have any idea how _stupid_ that sounds?" He shot a glare at Allistor, noticing the redhead was still having a bout of laughter. _'And my lying is not that bad.'_

"Sounds stupid, yes. However, not something I'm putting past you." Aedan made a face, though Arthur wasn't sure if it was directed at him or his mother, "And at least try and control the laughing." He glanced at Allistor.

"You think I'm not?" Allistor retorted.

"What do you take me for?" Arthur gaped at his parents, "That was a _fake_ suicide last year! Just because I'm a little emotionally off the chart doesn't mean we're going to try something for no reason! Why would Gilbert get himself hospitalized when he doesn't even like spending time at home with his entire family? That would just make no sense."

"He has a good point." Victoria glanced at her husband once more.

 _'Please please please let the conversation drop.'_ Arthur mentally pleaded. _'Much more of this and I'm going to contradict something else I said.'_

"Pardon me for interrupting…" A nurse peered in the room, "But I overheard earlier you wondering why Mr. Beilschmidt was hospitalized?"

 _'Thank you nurse of extremely poor timing.'_ Arthur let out a quiet sigh of his own. _'Once again proving I have the absolute worst luck.'_

"Oh, do you mind telling us?" Aedan looked at her startled, "I thought it was only family members…"

"It's fine. The Beilschmidt's say you're family friends of theirs. Gilbert missed several doses of his medication and lost consciousness as a result." The nurse smiled, "He'll be fine, though, he's just in the process of getting everything regulated again."

"…" Aedan blinked a couple times after the nurse had vanished once more.

"…Not on purpose." Victoria repeated, still staring at the empty doorway.

"In response to your earlier question, I believe the answer is never." Arthur glared at Allistor.

"Hm?" Allistor smirked, "I could've told you the answer to that one long before they showed up. You made a good attempt though."

"What question?" Victoria looked back and forth between the two in confusion.

"When have we ever had good luck." Allistor said flatly, "Not once."

"Hilarious." Aedan said with an expression that was the complete opposite, "You want to try that story over again?" He glared at Arthur.

"Honestly? No." Arthur smiled, "But somehow I don't think that answer is going to go over very well."

Allistor patted Arthur on the shoulder in an expression of sympathy, "There, there. You gave it your best shot."

"Shut up." Arthur hissed, his face reddening.

"Huh-uh." Victoria put both hands on her hips again, "His attempt to get hospitalized was obviously on purpose or he was just attempting suicide completely."

"Gilbert wouldn't commit suicide. He said, and I quote, it's a completely unawesome way to die." Arthur forced a smile, "So don't tell me that."

"Doesn't change what he did was completely on purpose." Aedan leaned up against the wall.

"No…it doesn't." Arthur tugged on the sheet cover for a minute, "And it does not change my being here in the hospital to keep him company now."

"So now that we've covered how stupid it really does sound…" Aedan rubbed his forehead with one hand, "I'm not even going to ask why he chose to get himself hospitalized on purpose."

"I wasn't about to answer the question even if you did ask." Arthur scowled, "It's his business and no one else's."

"You might not want to admit you know things like that." Allistor glanced at Arthur, "Just as a warning for future times of idiocy."

"I can still tell Reilly where that journal is." Arthur smiled cheerfully at Allistor, "Try me."

"Love you, too." Allistor scowled at his brother.

* * *

.

.

"Gott, would you two stop fighting already? You're giving me a freaking headache on top of everything else!" Gilbert finally snapped.

Ardrich and Myla both closed their mouths, dropping whatever they had been about to say to each other, much to Ludwig's relief.

Regis looked between his wife and oldest son and shook his head. Any attempt either Ludwig or himself had tried to make had ended in failure, so at least Gilbert stopped the argument (for the moment), "Did the nurse say how long it would be before…"

"No." Gilbert cut him off flatly before the sentence finished.

"You don't even know the rest of what I was asking." Regis scowled.

"I can be pretty sure I know what you were about to ask. And no matter what you possibly could have finished the end of your question with, the answer is no." Gilbert stuck his tongue out in response.

"W-well…" Ludwig looked uncertainly from Regis to Gilbert, "I-I think I'm just going to the cafeteria. Roderich probably headed straight down there since I can hear the yelling from Arthur's room."

"Oh great. Maybe his parents will get thrown out and I can be moved over there." Gilbert grinned, "Ja, ja, have fun dining with Roddy~"

"Ja, sure. Assuming the food here is edible." Ludwig made to leave the room, dragging Ardrich with him as he went, "We will be back."

"Oh good, silence." Regis heaved a huge sigh of relief once both had departed (amid much protesting from Ardrich saying he wasn't hungry).

Myla stuck her tongue out at Regis, "Well excuse me." She crossed her arms and let out a childish huff, puffing out both cheeks.

"…" Gilbert stared at his mother for a moment, "…How old are you?" He tilted his head, an innocent curious expression on his face.

"Old enough to not answer that question." Myla flipped her hair over one shoulder and continued sulking.

"Not…that…old…" Regis glanced between Myla and Gilbert.

"Really? So younger than Roma?" Gilbert tilted his head.

"…" Regis's face reddened slightly and quickly found a spot on the wall to look at instead of answering Gilbert's question.

"You're not backing off from this one. You dug the hole, you climb out of it." Myla elbowed Regis, "Answer."

"Tell meeeee~ you two were totally dancing on that film, so you must've been in school together at some point!" Gilbert flailed his arms towards his parents, "Tell me tell me tell me tell me!"

"Nein!" Regis turned a darker shade of red, "Und especially not if that's why you're asking!"

Gilbert pouted for a minute, making Myla give puppy-eyes to Regis, "Regiiiiiiis, that pout…"

"Why do you think I'm looking away?" Regis kept his gaze on the wall, "And I'm not looking at you either. I know what face you're giving me."

"What face?" Myla asked innocently, keeping the puppy-eyes on.

"We really are two of a kind." Gilbert buried his face in his hands, "Well if you're younger than Roma…then…" He looked up once more and tilted his head slightly, trying to figure out how old his parents might be, "It'd be so much easier if they actually said on the film what year it was from…"

"That film would not exist anymore if he had." Regis scowled.

"Oh but you're letting it live the way it is now. Ah memories~" Myla smiled cheerfully, "You keep saying how much Roma annoys you…but somewhere deep down you still…"

"Shut up." Regis's face reddened once more and he quickly clapped a hand over Myla's mouth, "Shut up, please."

Myla smiled behind the hand and burst into fits of giggles.

"What? What was that?" Gilbert looked back and forth between Myla and Regis, "Tell me~"

"Nein!" Regis shook his head, keeping the hand over Myla's mouth.

* * *

.

.

"Hiiiiiiii~" Antonio waved cheerfully as Lovino came back to the corner table.

"Oi. I told you to go to your damn class." Lovino scowled at Antonio, "What are you still doing here?"

"Still cleaning." Antonio held up a cloth and motioned to the bucket, "You'd be amazed by how fast this stuff dries."

"I probably wouldn't be actually." Lovino rolled his eyes and made sure the seat was dry before taking a seat, "I can't believe they're making you all stay here until it's clean. You all got a lot to do."

"I knooooow…and Matthew and Cruz wouldn't even help." Antonio hung his head for a moment before crawling back underneath the table, scrubbing at the floor.

"How did it get _under_ the table?" Lovino leaned over and peered at the stained salad dressing.

"I have no clue. We were sitting over there." Antonio pointed between the chair legs towards a table by the windows, "At least I didn't have to clean that area. The table next to it was covered in crap, it looked like a garbage dump!"

"Someone sitting there that people didn't like?" Lovino raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, someone Cruz called souphead." Antonio shrugged and continued scrubbing the floor, "I think the majority of the food over there was thrown by him actually. Some of it might've been me when I was using my tray as a shield."

"Idiot." Lovino rolled his eyes and straightened up again.

"Aren't you getting lunch?" Antonio peered up at him.

"Heck, no. The food is inedible." Lovino scowled, "I'm not eating something that's going to make me sick! …Now you're here, too. Terrific."

"Hi~" Roma plopped down next to Lovino, smiling cheerfully, "Since most of your usual table buddies aren't here, I thought I'd drop by! …Oh hi Antonio. Are you still cleaning?" Roma peered underneath the table upon seeing movement.

"Yup." Antono grinned, "The principal wasn't kidding when he said those monitors aren't letting anyone leave until this place is spotless. I think some people might try and sneak out when this class is over though."

"I think they would recognize which ones are cleaning." Lovino glanced around the room as he spoke, "Those people are covered in stains themselves. It makes it rather obvious who was present during the food fight."

"Looks like a warzone in here." Roma glanced around the cafeteria, "Eeeeeesh. You really shouldn't have started that."

"Food fights escalate quickly." Antonio laughed, "I didn't expect so many people to join in!"

"I can't believe your moron friend didn't even come back to help clean!" Reilly kicked the table while Antonio was still underneath it, causing the male to jump and hit his head on the underside of it.

"Oh hello." Roma smiled up at Reilly.

"What the hell was that for?" Lovino gaped up at the redhead.

Antonio crawled out holding his head, "That was mean! And Matthew went to class, sorry. No getting revenge for the spiders."

"Not yet anyway." Reilly scowled, "I got the rest of the day yet."

"Oh please don't start a fight. Or threaten to start one." Roma sighed, "That would mean I have to take you down to the office."

"That wasn't a threat. That was a promise." Reilly smirked and plopped down on one of the chairs, "And I'm sick of cleaning, so you'd be doing me a favor."

"I think I'm going to wait until the cleaning is done then." Roma smiled cheerfully, "Have fun~ Oh! Hi, Feliciano!"

"Grandpa Roma!" Feliciano bounced up and hugged Roma from behind, "You came to join us!"

Lovino rolled his eyes and watched Antonio scrub the floor around the table, "Gave up on the salad dressing stain?"

"While he's sitting there, yes." Antonio motioned to Reilly, "He's violent!"

"You wear a bowl of ice-cream with living spiders in it and see how peaceful you feel like being." Reilly glared at Antonio.

"You'd prefer the spiders to be dead?" Lovino raised an eyebrow, "I'm sure he would have put dead ones in there instead if you had asked nicely."

"Like hell I'm asking nicely!" Reilly snapped, "And why would you add spiders in a damn food fight anyway? I don't care if they _did_ come with the salad!"

"What kind of food are they serving?" Roma looked with horror towards the food lines, still being held onto by his youngest grandson.

"Inedible food." Lovino responded flatly, "Even moreso than that damn facility last year."

Antonio peered up over the table at Lovino, "Even with the bottles of gravy?"

"Don't. Remind. Me." Lovino glared at Antonio, "Ever."

Roma burst into fits of laughter, "The food there was fine as long as it was prepared properly beforehand. I enjoy eating there actually." He continued smiling despite the look of horror on Lovino's face, "What? I'm still a counselor there."

"I know you are, but why would you eat there? Call for pizza or something." Lovino shook his head, "You're going to be in the hospital with food poisoning."

"If I'm in the hospital, it won't be because of food poisoning." Roma glanced around the room again, "Looks like the cleaning is almost done."

Lovino sat in silence for a minute, very tempted on laughing at the looks on Antonio, Reilly, and Feliciano's faces (all of whom were staring at Roma).

Roma turned back around and stared blankly at the faces of the three at the table (Feliciano finally having sat down), "What?"

"Why are you going to be in the hospital?" Antonio tilted his head.

"That was a joke! A joke!" Roma protested, waving a hand quickly, "I'm not going to be!"

"Don't say jokes with a straight face. It makes people take you seriously." Reilly continued staring at him for a few moments before looking away.

"Especially with such a rapid change of subject at the end." Feliciano bobbed his head up and down in agreement, "Don't go in the hospital, grandpa!"

"I won't, I won't!" Roma smiled at Feliciano, "Your dad would kill me first more than likely."

Antonio looked back at Roma, "Huh?"

"Consider the audience before saying something else." Lovino kicked Roma's leg underneath the table, "They take you entirely too seriously."

"Lovi! How can you even tell he's joking? He looked like he was being serious!" Feliciano cried, leaning across the table to grab Lovino's arm.

"Because it's grandpa." Lovino yanked his arm away from his brother, "Geez. And if you think that he's being serious, then you have no faith in dad either."

Roma looked between Feliciano and Lovino, "Sorry, sorry! I'll try and think before speaking next time~"

 **Reilly: What the hell kind of joking is that anyway?**

 **Antonio: I don't even know…**

 **Lovino: It's grandpa. He always makes jokes that don't fit any situation.**

 **Roma: Sorrrryyyyyyyy D:**

 **Feliciano: Don't joke like that grandpa! I'm going to start worrying about you all the time now!**

 **Roma: Oh please don't do that. I'm fine.**

 **Antonio: Worrying causes stress D: And no offense, you don't seem like you handle stress well Feli.**

 **Lovino: He handles it better than me. I just go and fake suicide.**

 **Antonio: ._.**

 **Roma: XD**

 **Reilly: Ha. Ha. And you were telling HIM to watch what he says?**

 **Alfred: What the heck are we missing?**

 **Reilly: Hey tall blondie, where the **** are you at? I don't even see you in here!**

 **Alfred: That would be because…I'm not. :) I left.**

 **Reilly: ._. Those monitors let you by?**

 **Alfred: Yeah :D I said I had a test this class! Totally worked!**

 **Antonio: That's cheeeeeating~**

 **Roma: Please don't say things like that when there's a counselor in this conversation…**

 **Lovino: Volunteer counselor. Just volunteer for the crap that doesn't get us in trouble.**

 **Roma: that would be called favoritism.**

 **Lovino: And your point?**

 **Feliciano: We love you grandpa!**

 **Roma: Aw thanks~**

 **Reilly: Don't include me in on that. I think you're creepy.**

 **Roma: O_O**

 **BigStiff: How is Roma creepy? Hey Roma, how old are mutti and vati?**

 **Roma: ? They're around the same age as me. Myla is a year younger I think.**

 **BigStiff: ._. Und you have grandsons that are the same age as me? Does that make you a young grandpa or vati an old…stiff?**

 **Roma: Both? :D**

 **BigStiff: I shall call him old stiffy!**

 **Lovino: Oh no.**

 **Roma: Oh, please don't. That's going to get me in trouble.**

 **Alfred: XD Hey Gilbert, how's Arthur doing?**

 **BigStiff: Well the yelling stopped, so he must be doing better.**

 **Arthur: Not really. I just stopped responding.**

 **Allistor: we really don't have good luck. Especially not brother.**

 **Arthur: I suck at this. Sorry.**

 **BigStiff: The **** are you saying over there.**

 **Arthur: Actually the nurse said it. Not me.**

 **Roma: Are you two okay?**

 **BigStiff: Oh, ja, fine. Just back on medication.**

 **Arthur: Just a broken wrist surprisingly. They thought the arm was broken, but it was just a mis-read of the chart.**

 **Reilly: …**

 **Allistor: Yeah, the idiot actually did jump in front of a car.**

 **Roderich: ._. You said there were no injuries.**

 **Arthur: I lied.**

 **Alfred: XD I know I shouldn't be laughing, but that was such a straightforward response.**

 **Roderich: IDIOT.**

 **Ludwig: This food actually isn't half bad down here.**

 **Lovino: Great. Let's go eat in the hospital.**

 **Roma: I think we have to be patients or visiting patients…**

 **Lovino: …Can do.**

 **Roma: Wait what?**

 **Antonio: Lovi! Don't leave!**

 **Reilly: THE HELL DID YOU JUST THROW A BUCKET AT ME FOR.**

 **Arthur: Oh no.**

 **Feliciano: AHHHHH! Violence!**

 **Alfred: O_O**

 **Arthur: REILLY!**

 **Allistor: REILLY!**

Lovino sprinted around the table, trying to avoid the redhead who was chasing him, "In hindsight, I probably should have thought that through a little more!"

"You want a freaking visit to the hospital?! I'll give you one to the emergency room you stupid little Italian!" Reilly chased him across the cafeteria, ignoring the stares they were getting.

"Ah, please don't!" Roma hurried after Reilly, trying to calm the redhead down, "Don't hit hiiiiim~"

"…" Antonio plopped down on one of the chairs, watching the chase go around the cafeteria and start heading back to their corner, "I think I can trip one of them. Not sure which one though."

"I can trip another one!" Feliciano hopped a couple seats over so he was by the wall, "Ready!"

Antonio stuck one leg out, which Lovino jumped over and promptly ran into the wall instead. Reilly tripped over the leg and ended up flat on the floor, but not before grabbing the front of Antonio's shirt and yanking him to the floor along with. Roma stopped just before running into both and looked down at the three on the floor (Lovino holding the front of his face in pain).

"Ah…" Roma tilted his head, "Now what…"

"Are you guys okay?" Feliciano leaned over, glancing over his shoulder at the rest of the room (all seemingly staring at their corner), "Grandpaaaa, people are staring at us~"

"Ah…ha…ha…" Roma rubbed the back of his head, "I don't know what I should do now. That ended rather badly."

"Damn it…" Lovino rubbed his nose, "That really hurt! What the hell would you stick your leg up like that for?!"

"I was trying to stop you three from running around the room…it worked." Antonio held his head in both hands, having hit it upon landing on the floor, "I have a huge headache now!"

"Good." Reilly snapped, laying beside him, "Then we have matching headaches. Thankfully my knee took most of the impact."

"My head took all of it!" Antonio cried, "It hurts!"

Lovino continued holding his nose, "I think I have a nosebleed now…"

"Can you three walk? We should probably head to the nurse's office now." Roma squatted down next to Reilly and Antonio, "Up, up?"

"Oh sure." Reilly scowled, grabbing hold of Roma's shoulder and using it as a stabilizer to pull himself up, "…" He looked at everyone who was (still) staring, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU ALL STARING AT!?"

Feliciano glanced over his shoulder again at the fast-paced movement for everyone to suddenly appear busy with something else, "Wow. That got all of them to stop looking at us."

Antonio slowly stood up, still holding his head, "The room is spinning~ round and round it goes~…" His legs wobbled and he sank back down to the floor again, "Oh look! The wall is supporting me~"

"That's the floor, moron." Reilly glared down at Antonio.

"Nuh-uh. It's totally vertical." Antonio waved from the floor.

"That's because you're laying down." Roma sighed, "Come on. Up." He tugged Antonio back to his feet again, before pulling Lovino up as well.

"I'll help you take them to the nurse!" Feliciano bounced up out of his seat.

"Thanks Feli~" Roma smiled, about to help support Antonio, when Reilly discovered his knee wouldn't support him and went back down to the floor again, "Oh."

Feliciano skipped over to Reilly and (somehow, despite the height difference) pulled him back up to his feet, "You can lean on me~"

"I'd rather fall on the floor." Reilly scowled, but got yanked across the room anyway, though he did shoot death glares at anyone curious enough to watch.

Lovino followed along behind Roma, still holding his nose in both hands, "I'm dripping blood everywhere."

"Ah!" Roma pulled a cloth out of his pocket and handed it to Lovino, "Don't do that!"

"Spinning~" Antonio wobbled again before Roma caught him, "Is this what being drunk feels like?"

"Ahm…" Roma made a face, "To the nurse's office~" He pulled Antonio along beside him, avoiding the question.

"Nice save." Reilly commented sarcastically.

Lovino scurried out of the cafeteria after his grandpa, holding the cloth to his nose, "Seriously. This hurts. I better not have broken my nose because of you, bastard."

"Sorry, Lovviiiii…which way is Lovi?" Antonio glanced upwards towards the ceiling, as if expecting to see him.

"Not up there, idiot." Lovino snapped, "Why would I be on the ceiling?!"

"That's not the floor?" Antonio pointed up.

"Wouldn't that mean you're on the ceiling then?" Roma tilted his head, "Oh man. You really hit your head hard."

"I'm walking on the ceiling~ Dance with meeeee~" Antonio gave a weak tug on Roma's arm.

"Nope." Roma held fast and continued down the hall, "No dancing. That will make you even dizzier."

"This is STUPID. Why the hell did you throw a damn bucket at me?" Reilly shook his fist at Lovino.

"To get to the hospital. Clearly I misjudged your anger management issues." Lovino rolled his eyes, "I thought you would be faster in retaliation than that."

"Did you just say I have anger management issues?" Reilly's eyes narrowed, much to Roma's dismay.

"No fighting!" Roma moved in between the two, pushing Antonio further to the side of the hall while he did so, "Already enough injuries here!"

Feliciano tugged on Reilly, "Come onnnn, we're almost there!"

Reilly scowled and yanked free of Felicano, attempting to make it around Roma towards Lovino, but his knee twisted and he ended up flat on the floor again.

"And how did that work out for you?" Lovino smiled behind the cloth, "I give it a six on the landing though."

"Lovi! Please don't provoke him!" Roma pleaded.

 **Feliciano: wooooow, Reilly is violent!**

 **Allistor: What did he do?**

 **Feliciano: Oh they went running around the cafeteria…but, it ended with Antonio and Reilly on the floor with Lovi in the wall.**

 **Arthur: …what?**

 **Alfred: In the wall?**

 **Feliciano: Yeah he ran face-first into it. Antonio tripped Reilly, but Lovi jumped over Antonio's leg first and ran into the wall instead. Reilly grabbed Antonio and they both landed on the floor.**

 **Roma: What a mess…**

 **Lovino: All this blood coming out of my face~**

 **Arthur: O_O**

 **BigStiff: Hang in there Lovino!**

 **Reilly: Throw a ******* bucket at me…**

 **Allistor: …oi. Calm down. At least try.**

 **Roma: This is ridiculous. Where is the nurse anyway? She's not here.**

 **Feliciano: Yeah…and Lovi's blood is on the floor now.**

 **Antonio: ahahahahahaha… spinning.**

 **Feliciano: Oh and Antonio hit his head. Really hard.**

 **BigStiff: really. I couldn't tell.**

 **Roma: Okay. No more messaging for him. *took phone away***

 **Reilly: Damn knee. Woulda gotten even for that damn bucket if it weren't for my knee giving out!**

 **Feliciano: no hurting Lovi!**

 **Cruz: What the **** did I miss?**

 **Alfred: A fight in the cafeteria.**

 **Cruz: What? Who started that one?**

 **Feliciano: Lovino did. He threw a bucket at Reilly.**

 **Matthew: :D oh good. Does that mean Reilly has a different target?**

 **Reilly: Guess again blondie. Still getting even with you at some point.**

 **Cruz: Yeah. Good luck with that. Saw the message about your knee being out.**

 **Reilly: ******* knee!**

 **Matthew: More stars!**

 **Cruz: SEE! IT'S NOT JUST MY PHONE.**

 **Alfred: XD**

 **Arthur: Mom and dad are still glaring.**

 **Allistor: Yup. And probably will continue to do so until they either take our phones or get you to answer.**

 **Arthur: I think the first one will come first.**

 **Alfred: D: Awh, I wanna talk to Arthur~**

 **Arthur: Clearly this hospital is going to be really full. Can someone hit Alfred please? Hard.**

 **Cruz: Not near him. Otherwise I would gladly volunteer.**

 **Matthew: XD**

 **Alfred: :P ha ha. Can't hit me~**

 **Arthur: Pity.**

 **Allistor: Can put a curse on him…**

 **Alfred: what.**

 **Arthur: Don't do that. Your curses don't always end the way they're supposed to.**

 **Alfred: wait, what? Noooo, don't curse me!**

 **Matthew: …uh, can Reilly curse people?**

 **Reilly: :)**

 **Cruz: Well this day is going to be interesting. They already called our parents and now there's threats of cursing.**

 **Matthew: And not of the censored variety.**

 **Cruz: ._.**

 **Roma: anyone who can: No placing curses, Reilly: No attacking or hitting**

 **Alfred: XD**

 **Lovino: Whoa…the room is getting wavy…**

 **Roma: O_O DON'T GO LIGHTHEADED ON ME.**

 **BigStiff: Ja, ja. Go lightheaded. You'll be in here with us! :D**

 **Feliciano: D: No! School will be really boring with all of you in the hospital!**

 **Cruz: He clearly has no faith in us.**

 **Matthew: obviously.**

 **Alfred: XD**

 **Arthur: This hospital room is going to get really loud by the end of the day isn't it?**

 **Allistor: more than likely. At least you'll have company during the night.**

 **Arthur: Great. No sleep.**

 **Matthew: I have detention after school… I can't even come visit…**

 **Cruz: XD Normally that's me!**

 **Alfred: Yeah mattie, geeeeeez.**

 **Matthew: Shut up Alfred. ):**

 **Roma: still no nurse. I'm calling the ambulance. Lovi just passed out.**

 **Feliciano: I can't wake him uppppppp!**

 **BigStiff: Sweet. More awesome company. Just like last year. :)**

 **Roma: Please don't compare this to last year.**

 **Arthur: There are actual physical injuries this year.**

 **BigStiff: For you all. Not for me. Mine are all internal.**

 **Arthur: THAT'S WORSE.**

 **Roderich: THAT'S WAY WORSE.**

 **BigStiff: Oh hi again Roddy! I thought you were ignoring us all.**

 **Ludwig: We were just watching the messages go by, and bruder, please don't call vati that.**

 **BigStiff: You are no fun :I**

 **Arthur: Have a little thought for self-preservation.**

 **BigStiff: …Why would I be here if I did that?**

 **Roderich: GILBERT.**

 **Ludwig: BRUDER.**

 **BigStiff: What?**

 **Matthew: I don't think any of us have thoughts of self preservation anymore.**

 **Arthur: Probably not.**

 **Cruz: What?**

 **Alfred: what does that even mean?**

 **Allistor: Means brother is in trouble again.**

 **Arthur: Still.**

 **Reilly: Idiots. Hey wait, why the **** am I going to the hospital in an ambulance? **** this!**

 **Allistor: You're what?**

 **Arthur: Oh no.**

 **Roma: Your knee is injured! Deal with it! All three of you are going!**

 **Feliciano: we get to ride along!**

 **Reilly: I'm not riding with a crazy person and an unconscious person!**

 **Feliciano: you can only fit two in an ambulance.**

 **Matthew: You can fit a whole bunch in a hearse.**

 **Cruz: ._.**

 **BigStiff: OH GOTT DON'T REMIND ME.**

 **Ludwig: I heard about that…**

 **Roderich: Oh cheer up Gilbert. It wasn't that bad.**

 **BigStiff: YOU RIDE WITH VATI IN A ******* HEARSE.**

 **Matthew: The casket was fun.**

 **Cruz: What? What the **** are you? A vampire?**

 **Alfred: XD**

 **Matthew: I can guarantee you if you stab a wooden stake in me I will die. :)**

 **Cruz: Hilarious.**

 **Reilly: XD That response was great.**

 **Allistor: Oh geez.**

 **Arthur: Matthew. Don't end up here like the rest of us.**

 **Matthew: Can do. I'll serve my detention in peace.**

 **Cruz: You sure about that? Principal's behind us.**

 **Matthew: Crap.**

 **Alfred: Well they just got busted for skipping.**

 **Roma: …I'm not condoning any of this. I didn't realize they weren't in class!**

 **Alfred: XD I'm in class!**

 **Arthur: I'm still in the hospital.**

 **BigStiff: I'm apparently going to surgery.**

 **Ludwig: What?**

 **Roderich: what?**

 **Ardrich: What is going on that you two keep making faces?**

 **BigStiff: Oh gott, he has his phone on now.**

 **Ardrich: That's not vati is it**

 **Ludwig: no**

 **Roderich: why are you going to surgery?**

 **BigStiff: in a half hour or so. No clue. Wasn't listening.**

 **Roderich: YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO LISTEN.**

 **BigStiff: Vati and mutti were listening. I was too busy laughing at the screen.**

 **Alfred: I wonder what's going to…oh. The principal is here now.**

 **Arthur: ?**

 **Alfred: I think I'm in trouble.**

 **Roma: Oh no.**

 **Cruz: Serves you right for texting during class. :P**

 **Matthew: I don't wanna get suspended! Craaaaaap!**

 **Cruz: …Did you really just do that?**

 **Arthur: What?**

 **Cruz: He just ran.**

 **Alfred: RUN MATTIE.**

 **Roma: that's going to make it worse!**

 **Matthew: Can't punish someone who's not here~**

 **Cruz: XD**

 **Reilly: XD**

 **Allistor: Who the hell would tell you that? That's a bunch of bull.**

 **Matthew: If I make the front doors I'm home eoi283nvma3834**

 **Alfred: …**

 **Cruz: He just fell down the stairs didn't he**

 **Arthur: Oh my word.**

 **Allistor: Well it was a good idea in theory.**

 **Reilly: Ouch. Guess I'm not getting my revenge after all.**

 **Matthew: I'm okay. That hurt. I'm okay though.**

 **Cruz: idiot.**

 **Matthew: owww…okay I'm not okay. I think I twisted my ankle.**

 **Cruz: *facepalm***

 **Alfred: XD The principal is running down the hall now.**

 **Cruz: I have never seen him run. This is hilarious.**

 **Roma: it's not funny! D: He's probably worried about matthew since he did just fall down the stairs!**

 **Matthew: Down the stairs? Actually there was a water spill and I kinda skated across it.**

 **Cruz: ._.**

 **Alfred: Oh, so you're not down the stairs yet?**

 **Matthew: Ehm, I took a shortcut.**

 **Cruz: Let me guess. You skated across the water, hit the banister and fell over.**

 **Matthew: I guess I should be glad I didn't land headfirst. That woulda solved the entire issue.**

 **Cruz: WHAT ISSUE.**

 **Alfred: D: Matttiiieeeee!**

 **Cruz: Now there he goes.**

 **Arthur: *shakes head at the pure idiocy at school***

 **Roderich: How does all this happen while we're not there?**

 **BigStiff: Ja. We're missing all the comedy.**

 **Roma: What part of any of this is funny?**

 **Allistor: It's funny to read about it.**

 **Roma: Well then the papers tomorrow will be really entertaining.**

 **Reilly: What.**

 **Feliciano: Do the news people always follow the ambulances?**

 **Roma: This is embarrassing.**

 **BigStiff: XD**

* * *

 **.**

 **.**

Grammar, and a few lines of dialogue between Arthur's parents.


	27. Hospital Conversations

Moving on!

* * *

.

.

Regis raised on eyebrow at Roma entering the waiting room via the emergency room doors. "Dare I even ask what is going on now?"

"Ahahaha…things went a little crazy at school…" Roma gave a tired wave, "So much chaos today…"

"No kidding." Regis scowled for a minute, "What happened that you were in there though?" He leaned forward to look at the doors.

"Oh I was with Antonio a minute ago. They're making sure he didn't end up with a concussion after hitting the floor." Roma plopped down in an empty chair and peered at the magazines on the table next to him.

"…Hitting the floor…" Regis repeated.

"Didn't Gilbert tell you? He was using your phone the entire time." Roma glanced up at Regis in confusion.

Regis put his hand in his pants pocket in confusion for a minute, "I didn't even realize he _had_ it! I thought he was using his own!"

Roma grinned briefly before Feliciano came scurrying down the hall, "Oh there you are."

"Sorry~ I went to find Ludwig." Feliciano skipped over to where Roma was sitting with Ludwig and Roderich following along behind (with a bit less enthusiasm than Feliciano was showing).

Roderich looked from Roma to the cell phone he was currently holding and just shook his head, "I don't know which is worse, everything that's happening now, or that some moron is comparing it to the chaos from last year."

"Yes, well…" Roma leaned back in the chair, "Depends on which chaos you're referring to. The water balloons or the chase of the school board through the halls."

"Either one." Roderich huffed, "And the water balloons weren't nearly so disruptive as starting a food fight in the cafeteria!"

"You were still one of the organizers of the school board fiasco." Roma pointed out flatly.

Roderich smiled a bit, "You can't tell me that they didn't deserve that."

Regis let out a long sigh, "Since when is it up to the students to decide when someone deserves something?"

"Reilly is doing a fine job of that." Ludwig commented, "He's still mad at Matthew for the food fight."

.

.

* * *

Arthur glanced at the scowling redhead in the bed next to him. Except for the muttered cursewords following Reilly's entrance into the room, it had been rather silent. _'Well. This day has been nothing but fun.'_ Arthur smiled to himself and glanced back at Allistor again. He hadn't said a word either when Reilly had come into the room with a nurse (though now the nurse had left).

"How did you hurt your knee? Or is this something I don't want to know about?" Victoria gave a heavy sigh and looked at Reilly, giving up on Arthur for the moment.

"Well if some idiot hadn't tripped me, I wouldn't _have_ a hurt knee." Reilly snapped, "Damned moron."

"If you hadn't been chasing Lovino around the room, he wouldn't have had a reason to trip you." Arthur rolled his eyes upwards towards the ceiling, staring at the tiles. The count was off by one from last year. Or maybe he had just miscounted the last time he was here.

"He threw a stupid bucket at me!" Reilly scowled, "I'm going to chase him around the damn place! I was aiming to hit HIM, not his boyfriend!"

Arthur just shook his head with a sigh, while Allistor watched the argument in amusement.

"…" Their parents exchanged glances for a moment before they both hung their heads and let out a loud (exaggerated) sigh of frustration.

"I wonder how the principal is going to explain this one…" Arthur tilted his head, "The school's accident reports are really going to escalate…"

Reilly let out an angry huff and crossed his arms, glaring at the wall instead of responding.

"He'll figure something out, always does." Allistor smirked and leaned his head against the wall once more, "Probably going to have a crapload of new school rules in place though now."

"Oh this should be amusing." Arthur smiled.

.

.

* * *

" _Never_ in all my years, have I seen someone do something so stupid!"

"Didn't you just say that earlier…" Matthew rubbed at his ankle. Not only was his ankle bothering him, but now he had to sit through another lecture (and Alfred and Cruz laughing beside him was not helping at all).

"You really thought running down the hall like someone gone insane was going to do anything for the trouble you've managed today?" Mr. Smith stared at Matthew, "And then you go head over heels over the banister anyway!"

"I didn't do that on purpose!" Matthew shot a glare at Alfred, hearing the laughter increase in volume, "Besides, shouldn't a water spill have been marked with a sign? Hardly my fault."

"The janitor was _getting_ a sign. He wasn't expecting someone to come flying up the hall." Mr. Smith glared at the other two, "And would you two stop. You're not helping the situation any."

"When have you ever known me to help anything?" Cruz raised an eyebrow, but he did stop laughing.

"Still should have had someone stand there just in case." Matthew said flatly, "What if someone had been running to their locker?"

"They wouldn't have been heading right for the stairs." Mr. Smith responded flatly.

"No, they would have been going towards the ramp, skated across the water and probably end up flying headfirst down it." Matthew stuck his tongue out at the principal, "Either way, someone ends up with an injury."

Mr. Smith buried his face in his hands, muttering incomprehensible words.

"I think you just guaranteed us all in detention." Cruz leaned back to look at Matthew around Alfred.

"Oh good, I have company." Matthew sunk in his chair.

"Whaaaaaaaaaat? All I was doing was texting!" Alfred protested.

"And participating in a food fight, and arriving at school late." Mr. Smith added, not looking up at the three.

Cruz smirked, "Nice try, Jones."

Alfred huffed at him, "Shut it."

"Well. Since I have already used the disciplinary result of calling parents, that would leave me at sending you three home." Mr. Smith glared at the three, "Out."

"Hey, no detention." Cruz grinned, "Works for me."

"Uh, our parents…" Alfred started.

"Will probably never let us hear the end of it. Move it Alfred." Matthew dragged Alfred out of the office, leaving Cruz to follow along behind them.

"I was going to say they're not home!" Alfred argued as soon as they reached the hallway.

"I know that. I was planning on stopping by the hospital…" Matthew glanced at Alfred, "Unless you're saying you _don't_ want to see Arthur now."

"…" Alfred stared at him for a few minutes while Cruz came out and joined in standing next to Matthew, "…Hospital visit~" He skipped down the hall, leaving Matthew with a grin.

"Thought so." Matthew smiled cheerfully, "You going home?" He glanced at Cruz, heading after Alfred.

"Hell no." Cruz grumbled, "They're probably at work right now anyhow."

.

.

* * *

"Did they say how long it was gonna be?" Myla peered up at Regis, appearing to be much shorter when standing next to him.

"Nein." Regis sighed. He hesitated for a moment before giving up and sitting down in a chair a little ways away from where Roma was still sitting, "Where's Ardrich at?"

"Still in the cafeteria." Ludwig commented, "He was talking to someone. I don't know who it was." He glanced at his phone, "…Quiet now…"

"That's because either everyone got in trouble or they're here." Roderich scowled, "Idiots."

"Not all of us got hurt!" Feliciano sulked, hugging Roma's arm.

Roma opened his mouth, about to say something in response but thought better of it and looked away instead, humming slightly to himself.

"Go for it." Regis said flatly, "I can tell there was a comment about to come out."

"Not going to say it~" Roma continued humming.

"…" Ludwig tilted his head, while Roderich looked on in confusion.

"Not all of the injuries were intentional is probably the comment he was about to make…" Myla sighed.

Roma smiled slightly, still looking towards the emergency room doors.

"Still idiots." Roderich grumbled.

"How does it make anyone an idiot?" Roma looked over at Roderich, "If someone couldn't avoid the injury, does that really make it their fault?"

"…" Regis raised an eyebrow at the sudden seriousness of Roma's tone.

"If they hadn't been acting so stupid, I wouldn't be calling them idiots then. Starting a food fight in the cafeteria was certainly not keeping safety in mind." Roderich returned the stare with one of equal intensity.

Ludwig looked back and forth between the two, suddenly not sure if he wanted to remain sitting where he was. "…"

"Shooting arrows from the second floor of a school building wasn't keeping safety in mind either, nor did launching water balloons across a classroom, or spilling a bucket of water down the stairs while people are coming up them." Roma took the magazine he had picked up and gave it a light toss back onto the table, "The reasons may have been different when looked at by someone who doesn't understand the situation, but that doesn't make it any better or worse than the event that preceded it."

"…" Feliciano carefully unlooped his arm from Roma's and inched his chair away slightly.

"There he goes…" Regis whispered quietly, finding a spot on the wall to stare at.

Myla stared in disbelief at Roma's sudden serious tone of voice, "I don't think I've _ever_ heard him talk like this!"

"I'm not saying it was worse than the event, as you put it, last year." Roderich's eyes narrowed slightly in annoyance, "And you're making it sound as if the two are connected."

"You think they're not?" Roma looked back at Roderich, "The people in the hospital now are the same who were here last year. There may be a couple more added on now, but two, technically three, are here by intentional means. And you still think this has nothing to do with what happened last year?"

Regis let out a quiet sigh and rubbed his forehead with one hand.

Roderich blinked, but before he could say much of anything response (not that he had known quite _what_ to say in response to that), Roma cut him off.

"You can't possibly tell me that you didn't notice it. He's been at your house nearly every day this summer except for one or two days a week. Obviously no one at home was saying much of anything." Roma gave an accusing glance towards Regis and Myla.

"Hey, what?" Regis stared at him in shock.

"I'm talking about your son." Roma said flatly, "How long did this have to go on before you would have finally tried talking to him? How many times did he have to come up with an excuse to leave before you would start asking why he wasn't spending time at the house anymore? One year of continuing emotional therapy does absolutely _nothing_ when the families aren't willing to reach out." He stood up abruptly and left the five sitting in complete silence, stalking out through the emergency room doors without stopping to look back.

"…" Feliciano sunk in his chair, looking as if he was about to cry.

"WELL. That was definitely the first time I've seen him mad about anything." Myla blinked a few times, still trying to figure out what had just happened.

Regis looked at the doors that were still swinging slightly, "…"

"…Continuing?" Roderich looked at Ludwig.

"…" Ludwig just slowly tilted his head, "I guess…they were still seeing a counselor…I did not know that…"

"I don't think any of us did." Myla shook her head and looked at Regis for a moment before glancing back at the chair that Roma had left, "…That hurt."

"A bit." Regis commented.

"I thought we were trying…" Feliciano whispered.

.

.

* * *

 **(Timeskip to evening after visiting hours are closed)**

Gilbert rolled his head to the right to glance at the blonde in the bed that was next to his own, "…So…dare I ask how it went?"

"Oh it went just perfectly." Arthur rolled his eyes in response, "I certainly had no luck at all today. Lovino?"

"Don't even ask. The only thing I got today was a bruised nose." Lovino grumbled in response, the sound coming across as muffled through his pillow (he was laying on his side).

Gilbert grinned and looked back towards the ceiling, "Well I think we can mark this day up to a spectacular failure."

"Maybe not." Lovino sighed and rolled over onto his back.

"…" Arthur blinked a couple times before propping himself up on his good arm to glance across the room at Lovino, "You don't think so?"

"Not after the stunt Matthew pulled." Lovino commented, "I'd say as soon as we're all back in school, we're going to be stuck sitting through another assembly."

"Oh no." Arthur grabbed his pillow and pressed it up against his face, "Not another one!"

"Ja, nein danke." Gilbert stuck his tongue out in response even though the room was dark, "I'll pass on that. The first one we had to speak at was bad enough."

"I seem to recall you enjoying the entire thing." Lovino shot a glare in Gilbert's direction.

Gilbert burst out laughing, "That was then…" He broke into a fit of coughs, "This is now."

"I'm surprised Antonio isn't in here with us…he's not still in emergency is he?" Arthur glanced around the room.

"No, but he's in observation." Lovino shook his head with a sigh, "And Reilly got out with a brace on his knee. Apparently he threatened the doctor to let him off without an overnight stay."

Arthur smiled to himself, "Does not surprise me at all."

A period of silence fell over the room, broken only by an uncomfortable cough from Gilbert.

"So what now?" Lovino asked in a quiet voice.

"I guess we're just going to see what happens as a result of whatever Matthew did." Arthur sighed, "Because we're certainly not making progress at the rate we're going."

"Well grandpa certainly spoke out." Lovino scoffed, "Moron."

"Ja, really. I had to listen to vati muttering under his breath about it." Gilbert snickered, "That was hilarious~"

Arthur hit his cast a couple times, trying to get rid of an itch that had settled underneath it, "Well he has been our counselor for almost a year now, give him a break. He certainly knows more about how we're feeling than our families do…immediate families."

"Thanks for that." Lovino snapped, "I knew what you meant."

"…That's kinda pathetic." Gilbert sighed, "So I'm just gonna go to sleep and think about it in the morning."

Arthur let out a quiet sigh, still hitting his cast, desperate to get it to stop itching.

Lovino rolled back onto his side and closed his eyes, listening to the silence in the room. _'Haven't we been saying that all along? So what if we just have a hard time talking to our parents, don't all teenagers? What the hell makes us so different from other people our age?'_ He scowled for a moment, hugging the pillow to his chest instead of resting his head on it. _'I don't get how other people can talk about personal subjects so easily with their parents… how do they even do that? What is it just a bite-the-bullet type of mentality we're supposed to have?'_

"Arthur." Gilbert spoke up, startling Lovino out of his thoughts.

"Hm?" Arthur glanced over at him.

"Stop. Doing. That." Gilbert turned his head to glare at Arthur, the red gaze reaching its intended target.

"Wasn't aware you could hear it, sorry." Arthur's face reddened, "My arm itches."

"Is that what that sound was?" Lovino opened both eyes, blinking a couple times, "I thought it was someone walking up the hall!"

"I get it already!" Arthur snapped, "Bloody annoying cast."

"So lesson learned, don't take the fastest route to the hospital next time." Gilbert grinned.

"Next time?" Lovino asked.

"Thanks for having faith in me, Gilbert. It means so much, honest." Arthur said sarcastically, "You clearly have such overwhelming confidence that I'm going to get to a point where I can cope normally."

Gilbert burst out laughing again.

"We're all doomed at this rate." Lovino grumbled, "The most we can do is laugh at one another for our own blatant stupidity!" He pressed the pillow to his face, letting out a yelp when it made contact with his nose (that he had somehow forgotten about).

"And at the sound of Lovi's yell, the time will be…" Gilbert grinned.

"Time to sleep." Arthur scowled, "Forgot about the bruised nose, Lovino?"

"Shut it." Lovino snapped, rubbing his nose, "Damn pillow." He kicked it across the room and rolled over, pulling the covers with him with an angry huff, "Not like I need it."

"…At least these beds are more comfortable than that craphole facility." Gilbert moved under the covers further.

"Yeah. I'm not in a bunk bed with someone tossing and turning above me. This is nice." Lovino smirked underneath the covers.

"You're about to get another pillow!" Gilbert snapped, "I said I was sorry!"

"I didn't get sleep either." Arthur commented, "And I was on the top bunk."

"You were too busy thinking about a bl-" Gilbert found a pillow meeting his face, "HEY!"

"SHUT UP!" Arthur snapped, "I was NOT!"

Lovino let out a loud, exaggerated sigh, "Just admit it already. It would make life so much easier."

"If I could admit anything, I wouldn't be in this hospital right now!" Arthur laid his head down on the bed, now without a pillow.

"He's got a good point." Gilbert commented, hugging Arthur's pillow.

"…I think calling him while you were supposed to be playing dead was a pretty good attempt at telling him you liked him." Lovino shuffled onto his back again.

"He called me first." Arthur retorted.

"See, he likes you, too." Gilbert snickered, "You two are both too stubborn to tell the other person though."

"You're lucky I don't have another pillow." Arthur glanced around him, but couldn't see anything he could grab or throw towards the albino.

"…You know…for these beds being better…I sure as hell can't find a spot to get comfortable enough to sleep on." Lovino scowled and tossed and turned repeatedly, "Seriously, this is ridiculous."

"This is gonna be a long night." Gilbert sighed.

"At this rate, very long." Arthur agreed.

.

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* * *

Grammar updates.


	28. Two out and two in

Moving on.

* * *

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Red eyes stared with some (okay, maybe a lot) of annoyance at the blue eyes that were currently glaring in his direction. Gilbert had been exchanging glares with Regis for some time now, but the other seemed reluctant to say much of anything (or at least explain _why_ he was glaring). The only thing he could think of was it must have had something to do with the criticism Roma had given everyone in the waiting room the day before. But Gilbert wasn't even sure what exactly had been said. Gilbert glanced to his left and saw Arthur was (once again, or maybe still) hitting his cast with his right hand (much to Allistor's obvious amusement). Gilbert glanced across the room to Lovino (he felt sorry for the Italian), who was looking awkwardly between his stony-faced grandfather and his more-than-slightly-annoyed dad (currently exchanging charged silences to one another).

"Gott, can we please all just get along." Gilbert groaned and buried his face in his hands, "Everyone is glaring at one another. This is insane."

"Ain't no one glaring over here." Allistor raised an eyebrow.

"That's because the other redhead left." Gilbert grumbled, not looking up from his hands.

Arthur made a face and continued hitting his cast, "Stupid…itch." He waved his arm around, letting out a string of curse words, "Stop already!"

Allistor grinned, "This is fun to watch~"

"I will hit you with it." Arthur held his arm over his brother's head, scowling.

Lovino just threw up both hands in exasperation and hit his head back against the pillow. If it wasn't for the bed being up in a sitting positon, he would have grabbed the pillow and buried his face in it, but the pillow was currently the only thing keeping his head from hitting the frame of the bed.

Regis tapped his fingers in an annoyed manner on the bedsheets, the glare not leaving his face, though it did change directions to the adult next to Lovino (Gilbert couldn't help but notice the glare was returned from Roma). _'Definitely the argument from yesterday.'_ Gilbert sighed. _'I wish mutti was here…actually scratch that. Mutti was in the waiting room, too. Who wasn't? Uh…crap. This is going to make the day so much longer than it has to be…'_

Arthur looked between Roma, to Alexander, then to Regis. Of all the times prior, this was definitely a time where he wished he could think of something to say. He opened his mouth but shut it again and just shook his head. Anything said now would probably just make things worse anyhow. Arthur stared at the wall across from him, thinking a minute before his gaze narrowed slightly. Wait… _'Isn't that how this entire thing started? Not being able to talk because I didn't want to make a bad situation worse? I went full circle!'_ Arthur let out a strangled noise of frustration and repeatedly hit his head against the pillow.

"What are you doing…" Allistor raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing. Just congratulating myself on my own pure stupidity." Arthur said flatly.

"…" Allistor just stared at him in confusion.

Gilbert glanced at the machine next to him, leaning forward slightly to look at the display, trying to find something ( _anything_ ) to distract himself from the angry-and-most-definitely-annoyed stiff sitting next to him. _'I wonder what those buttons do?'_ Gilbert tilted his head, examining the buttons going along the top. _'Maybe to stop the alarm if the person flat-lines?'_ Now he was tempted to try. That would probably go over as well as the whole not-taking-his-medication did. Gilbert turned forward again, noticing Regis had returned his glare to him. _'…I swear he's a mindreader…gott, the air is so hostile in here! It's like people are just ready to start yelling at one another…'_

Lovino stared at the ceiling. So far he had come up with a few items on his mental checklist that he needed to make sure got done (in no particular order). First off, give Feliciano a _HUGE_ thank-you for tattling to dad about whatever their grandpa had said the day before (preferably with a punch to the face). Secondly, curse dad out for arguing with grandpa _again_ when he most definitely had promised he would try and avoid that in the future. Thirdly, make a solemn vow to never do something stupid to end up in the hospital again. This was torture.

"…" Lovino blinked a couple times. Wait…he was forgetting something. "Is Antonio still here?" Lovino glanced towards Roma.

"No, he was released earlier this morning." Roma smiled cheerfully at Lovino, now completely ignoring the other two adults in the room.

"…" Lovino blinked. He still felt like he was forgetting something. Something to do with Antonio. What the hell was it.

"Well at least someone got away from the torture." Gilbert gave a less-than-enthusiastic wave of his hands, "Goody for him."

Arthur struggled to keep from laughing, and thankfully (as in _not_ ) Allistor decided to chime in, "Well, he wasn't here by his own stupidity." And there went any problem Arthur had with controlling laughter, earning Allistor a glare.

"Someone could argue against that." Lovino spoke up flatly, adding hastily, "That does NOT mean an open invitation to start an argument. I can feel one brewing; can we _please_ just get along here?"

Gilbert grabbed both ends of his pillow and pulled them forward so they were covering his ears, "Not taking any chances~"

Myla skipped in at the moment, thankfully ending any comment that might have been made by the adults in the room. "Definitely feeling better after the coffee run…" She stopped a few steps into the room and tilted her head slightly, eyes focused on a random point on the wall. "…"

Allistor looked at her in confusion, "What?"

"I feel like I just missed something and I should probably walk back out of the room." Myla glanced around at the occupants of the room, "Ehm…well~ it's a beautiful day~" She skipped across the room and pulled the curtains open a little so the sun was shining through, "No reason for it to be all gloomy in here~"

Gilbert looked upwards towards the ceiling. _'Is this supposed to be helping? The tension is getting worse. Roma looks like he's about to snap.'_

Lovino looked hesitantly towards his grandfather. Tell-tale sign number one that Roma was annoyed, his eyes were closed. Number two, the fists were clenched. This was not going to end well. The shoulder shaking from the restrained anger was sure to follow shortly. _'I want to know whose bright idea it was to assign him to be our counselor…I know since he's related it was supposed to be helpful so we'd feel better about talking to our parents, but the only thing I want to do is_ punch _my parents. How is this helping?'_

"Earplugs…I wanted to pick up earplugs on the way over here." Arthur muttered, "How did I forget those."

"What the hell do you want earplugs for?" Allistor looked at him in confusion.

Myla leaned against the windowsill, looking towards Gilbert. If she was aware that Roma looked like he was about to start yelling again, she didn't show it at all. "Has the nurse been in yet?" Myla looked towards Regis, leaning forward slightly.

"No." Regis responded quietly.

"Any nurse who's smart would stay the hell away from this room." Gilbert said flatly.

Arthur quickly put a hand over his mouth, failing to stop the laugh before it escaped.

Myla made a face, "Ha. Ha. Funny." She huffed and crossed her arms, sulking a bit.

"I wasn't joking." Gilbert scowled at her, "You can cut the tension in here with a freaking knife. Actually, scratch that, it would probably _break_ the knife!"

"And you're not helping." Lovino buried his face in his hands.

Myla looked between Regis and Roma, "…Ummm…maybe we can talk this out calmly?"

Gilbert let out a snort and looked away. _'Like hell that's ever going to happen in this century.'_

Lovino opened his mouth as if to say something in response but then just shook his head, "Not even going to touch that. Not with a ten foot pole."

"You can respond~" Myla waved her hand, a carefree expression on her face, apparently she was one of the only ones who wasn't completely offended from the day before.

Lovino just smiled, "It's really safer if I keep my mouth shut."

 _'All those times we've been wanting to speak up, and now we're in a moment when we want to keep our mouths shut. Talk about irony.'_ Arthur glanced down at his cast. Well…at least the itch was gone. Finally.

"Well if everyone keeps their mouths shut all the time, we'd never get anywhere. We'd all be sitting around here sulking like five-year-olds." Myla smiled cheerfully.

"Excuse me, you were the one sulking almost the entire day yesterday because of an argument about your outfit." Gilbert stared at her.

"That was about my outfit not about an argument with someone~" Myla flailed her arms around, "Don't bring that up!"

"See, now it's an argument." Gilbert snapped.

Lovino glanced towards his right and saw Roma's shoulders were shaking slightly. _'Yup. Definitely not going to last another ten minutes without something happening.'_

"Can we not bring that up again? Ardrich isn't even in the room." Regis sighed.

Arthur glanced over in time to see Gilbert's eyes flash momentarily. _'Oh great. Roma's about to lose it and so is Gilbert. I want earplugs.'_ "Does the shop in the lobby sell earplugs?" Arthur glanced at Allistor, "Can you go check?"

"…I think I will take that open invitation to flee the room. Sure. I'll go check." Allistor bolted out of the room, not even slowing as he rounded the corner.

"…He never runs that fast in gym class…" Arthur tilted his head. _'I guess the tension in the air_ is _becoming rather suffocating at this point.'_

Gilbert released the hold on his pillow in favor of clenching his hands into tight fists. _'One…two…three…'_

"Wait…now I'm just confused." Lovino waved one hand in exasperation, "Make up your damn minds already."

"Hm?" Myla glanced at Lovino. Regis glanced over as well, but didn't make a response.

Arthur was rather amazed that Alexander hadn't said anything up until this point, but then again…Lovino's dad also hadn't looked away from Roma the entire time. The facial expression on Alexander's face had reached one of hesitation (at least it had changed from anger). _'I can see Roma shaking from here…'_ Arthur glanced back at his pillow, "…" _'Can't grab onto it with my arm in the cast…find a happy place…'_

"Nothing. Never mind." Lovino snapped, "Obviously the issue went right over your heads. Like a _mile_ above."

 _'I'm stuck in a room with three people about to go postal!'_ Arthur pulled out his pillow and promptly pressed his face into it with his good hand. _'Of all the times for something to appear to stop a trainwreck…now would definitely be helpful! Please let my luck turn around! Send me something or someone to get me out of listening to this!'_

 _'seven…eight…nine…'_ Gilbert continued counting, fists still clenched, glaring at the wall across from his bed.

"What issue?" Myla panicked, "Tell me~"

Arthur peered over the top of his pillow, the words hanging in the air as if they were echoing off the walls. That apparently did it. And Arthur was _not_ going to get his wish.

"What issue…" Lovino stared at her in complete disbelief, "Did you really just…"

"Make up…your mind." Roma cut Lovino off, and finally opened his eyes to glare at Myla.

"Eh?" Myla blinked, caught off-guard by Roma's sudden response.

 _'Oh no.'_ Lovino looked upwards briefly. _'So much for thinking he might just get up and leave the room. Gonna have to sit through this one.'_

"Make up your mind!" Roma raised his voice, the same harsh tone from yesterday coming back, "You said you wanted him to talk more, but now you're telling him to not bring something up? What kind of idiocy is that?"

"Dad…" Alexander started.

"Excuse me!" Regis snapped, "Don't even imply that we don't want him talking! Asking to not have an argument repeated is not the same thing as-"

"Please don't yell, you two…" Myla pleaded.

"As what?" Roma completely ignored the quiet pleas from both his son and Myla, "How is he supposed to say anything if you keep raising objections to the conversation?"

"Dad, all he did was say one…"

"Don't you start." Roma cut Alexander off.

Lovino buried his face in his hands again, ignoring the jaw-dropped look on his dad's face at being told to be quiet (granted it was put differently).

"I did not want to hear the argument from yesterday brought up again!" Regis scowled, "That is all I said…"

"Regis…" Myla pleaded.

"You want him to speak up when something is upsetting him? How is he supposed to when you don't want old arguments brought up? How are you ever going to know when he _is_ upset if you don't shut up and listen for once?!" Roma retorted.

 _'Loooooong day.'_ Lovino let out a quiet sigh.

" _Dad_ …" Alexander hissed.

"Shut up." Lovino said flatly, not even looking towards the male who was now gaping at him, "Just. Shut. Up."

 _'If this is what it's like having parents in the room, mine can stay at home.'_ Arthur looked upwards at the ceiling again. _'Please.'_

Regis seemed to be in shock after the last comment, but Myla chimed up in her husband's defense, "Okay, I know I didn't want this to become a full-out argument here, but Gilbert is more than free to say something if he's getting upset…"

Gilbert let out a breath of air, releasing it in a hiss through clenched teeth. Counting to ten had definitely not helped at all. In fact, he was feeling worse than he had before he had started counting.

Recovering from the initial shock of Lovino telling his dad to shut up, Roma glared at Myla, "How? How is he supposed to say something if you two tell him what not to say? Is he just supposed to drop whatever he was feeling at that time, act like it never happened? If you keep telling him not to bring up something, how is he going to know what he's allowed to say at all? They're never going to get out of the corner they're in if the people they need to talk to won't _listen_!"

Arthur just nodded in silent agreement from behind his pillow. Desperate to stay out of the argument, he only peered out now and then to see the rage level on Gilbert's face. Definitely approaching a fit here soon.

"That is not what…" Myla started, but didn't finish, and this time she didn't get cut off by Roma.

"Then what the hell are you saying?" Gilbert snapped, "Make up your damn minds already! You two are absolutely impossible to talk to now! Every single damn time any conversation was started, one of you would get distracted and even forget what the topic was about, if it was difficult to bring up the first time, how the hell is someone supposed to bring it up a second time?!"

Before anyone could respond (in shock as they were) a doctor stepped into the room and took one glance around before clearing his throat.

"Sorry…but…can I ask anyone who is not a patient or a counselor to leave the room please? Upsetting the patients is not safe for their general health." The doctor motioned towards the door, stepping out of the way, "Out."

Roma turned his gaze towards Lovino, completely ignoring the other three as they stood up to leave (once recovered from the shock of being told to leave).

"And good day." Lovino muttered under his breath as his dad left, strangling the air in front of him as Myla left the room.

Arthur pulled the pillow down to look at the remaining occupants of the room, "…Well."

Gilbert stared out the window, blinking at the sunlight, but didn't say anything.

"I think the only thing I got out of that…was I am so thankful my parents weren't here." Arthur threw his pillow back behind him again, "I don't think I could even look at them, much less talk."

"Yup. We're doing absolutely terrific." Lovino nodded, "Well on our way to a speedy recovery." He leaned over and patted Roma on the shoulder, "Not your fault."

"Ja. Thanks for being a voice for someone who was told to be quiet." Gilbert said flatly.

Roma let out a long sigh, "I think I've been a counselor too long… I see so many teenagers drift apart from their parents because of something as simple as not talking…"

"…I wonder if Allistor isn't allowed back now…" Arthur glanced towards the now-closed door, "I think all visitors just got banned."

"Oh great." Roma sighed and slumped forward, "One more reason for Alexander to be mad at me~"

"You two did have another fight…" Lovino sighed, "I knew it…"

"It would be so much easier if it didn't seem like he was angry all the time…" Roma cried, "I keep trying to have a level-headed conversation and we end up fighting and biting each other's heads off~"

"It suddenly occurs to me that Roma has the same problem we do." Gilbert turned his head away from the window, "Someone who understands~"

"That's not a good thing." Roma sighed, "Especially not now."

"Sure it is." Lovino patted him on the shoulder again, "We have someone who knows what we're going through and can speak up in our place."

"Right. We just all hit a wall." Arthur leaned his head back against his pillow.

"Yeah. Made an attempt to get out of the corner and found it blocked." Gilbert snorted.

"…That stupid bastard still has my notebook." Lovino said suddenly, "Idiot, idiot, idiot!" Lovino hit his head back against the pillow, "How the hell did I forget that?!"

"Eh?" Roma tilted his head, "Antonio has one of your notebooks?"

"Yeah, my home education notebook." Lovino grumbled.

"Oh…the one where you're supposed to write your feelings and crap in?" Gilbert raised an eyebrow, "Well as long as you didn't write something that he's going to go tattling to your parents about." He waved a hand nonchalantly, but froze when he saw the look on Lovino's face, "…What?"

"He…wouldn't tell mom and dad about that thing would he?" Lovino asked hesitantly, "…There's stuff in there I kinda wrote about…someone else."

"Eh?" Roma blinked at Lovino, "You're not talking about me are you?"

"And life as Lovino knows it has come to a screeching halt." Arthur closed his eyes and smiled, "Social suicide?"

"That's not social suicide, that's just plain suicide!" Lovino snapped, "I don't want them reading that!"

"Waiiiiiiiiiit, Lovi, what did you write about me in there?" Roma flailed his arms around, "Lovi!"

.

.

* * *

Alexander sighed and took the pile of books he was being handed, "Thanks for dropping them off…sorry Feliciano couldn't bring them home."

"No worries." Mr. Smith shrugged it off, "I'm going around dropping off a lot of textbooks today it seems. Hopefully that was all of them, it's difficult to tell some of them apart without opening each one to look for the student's names…especially since some students don't even sign theirs."

"I never understood the point of that." Alexander commented, tilting his head slightly, "Other than seeing how many people had the book before you, it was more like a wall of graffiti inside a textbook."

"…" Mr. Smith stared at Mr. Vargas, not even sure he was willing to ask for an explanation of the comment.

"Well some people signed some really strange names in those textbooks. You should look at some of them sometime." Alexander just nodded, "I remember the one name I had, it was signed 'The Reaper'."

"…" Mr. Smith just heaved a huge sigh and hung his head, "That box is meant so the book can be returned…"

"If I recall correctly, they put in 'The afterlife' for the school year." Alexander looked towards the street with a thoughtful expression on his face.

"They put wha-I give up understanding teenagers." Mr. Smith just threw up his hands in frustration and turned to leave, "This is ridiculous. So many school policies need rewritten or changed now due to some crazy stunts!"

Alexander couldn't help but laugh in response, "Some students look forward to getting their new textbooks just for that!"

"That's not the point of the textbook! I'm going to start paging some of these people down to the office just to see if I get any idiots responding!" Mr. Smith scowled.

"…" Alexander blinked a moment, "Mr. Reaper, your textbook for Advanced Math has been found, please report to the office to pick it up at your earliest convenience?"

"Exactly." Mr. Smith headed off to his car, "In any case, I hope Lovino feels better soon."

"Yeah, thanks." Alexander headed back into the house and deposited the books onto the small table in the hall. He glanced at the science textbook and opened it up out of curiosity, "I wonder what some of the… 'Green-Eyed Lover'? What the hell?" He blinked a couple times before picking up a small notebook and opening it, "…This is Antonio's. Oh for…"

Alexander glanced out the front door, but the principal's car was already gone. "Well. I suppose I can just call Antonio's parents and do a textbook swap. Assuming they get Lovino's." He glanced through the books, trying to determine if any of them were Lovino's, but seeing as how they were all signed the Green-Eyed Lover, he was assuming they were Antonio's.

"…" Alexander picked up a notebook with a tomato print and blinked, "This looks like it would be Lovino's though…" He opened the front cover and recognized his son's handwriting, but found Antonio's handwriting was in the margins of the pages. "…" He flipped through the pages, and opted to sit on the floor next to the stand. "Therapy journal?"

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* * *

"Ach. Why does Gilbert carry around so many books." Regis sighed and dropped the armful on the table, causing the piece of furniture to shake.

"Careful with my table~" Myla smacked Regis on the arm before glancing at the books, "…Hm?" She picked up the first textbook, "Oh! I remember it was always so fun to read whoever had the textbooks before me! It's like those time capsules that people bury in their yards!"

Regis stared at her silently, "…Ja. That's not what I remember thinking about when I opened mine."

Myla opened the cover of Gilbert's science book, "Let's see…not that I'm going to recognize any of these names…um…well then."

"Name you recognize?" Regis shuffled absent-mindedly through the pile on the table, "I wonder if he needs any of these for homework…"

"Well it seems there was somebody named the UPS Man who had this textbook before Gilbert…school year listed as '3-5 days for shipping'." Myla commented.

Regis leaned over to look at the book, thinking she was joking, "…Gott. Why do people sign those things like that. It's really not that difficult to just sign their name."

"We also have…the Reaper's Son from the year of the 'Afterlife'…" Myla raised an eyebrow, "I wonder if there was someone who signed their textbook Reaper and told their kid about it? That would make sense. Keep it going. How cute!"

"Cute?" Regis stared at her in disbelief, "Pretending to be the reaper?"

"Oh don't be such a wet blanket." Myla stuck her tongue out at him, "Looks like someone named the Sad Drunk had this book, too. …Year is listed as 'Too drunk to remember'."

"What the hell is the problem with these people?" Regis shook his head.

"Last entry is…" Myla stared at the last line, "…Dead Man Walking. School year…Last."

"What." Regis stared at her again.

"That's what it says." Myla handed him the book, "And I think I would recognize Gilbert's handwriting if I saw it. Though the Reaper's Son is right before him, maybe he was going with that."

Regis took the book and stared at the list of strange names, "You are fooling no one with that suggestion."

"Give me a break. I tried." Myla cried, flailing her arms, "You could at least try and be supportive of my attempts~"

.

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* * *

"Geez." Mr. Carreido slammed the books down on the table, "Why the heck do they make these things so heavy now?"

"I think they've always been that way, dear." His wife peered around the corner from the kitchen, "Also, what am I making for supper?"

Cruz leaned against the dining room table and watched as Mr. Carreido glanced through the textbook pile without much care.

"Cruz, what do you want for supper?" She glanced over in his direction, seeing as her husband wasn't answering the question.

"I don't care." Cruz said flatly, "Whatever is fine."

"You people are no help!" Mrs. Carreido sighed heavily.

"Ana, just pick something and make it. Neither of us have a preference and Antonio is still sleeping."

Cruz leaned over and picked up a science textbook, "These aren't Antonio's either. He's in music not science."

"Huh? Then whose are these?"

Ana peered out from the kitchen again, making a face at both males in the dining room (though neither paid her any attention).

Opening the front cover, Cruz glanced at the last name and pushed the book away again, "Lovino."

"Oh terrific. They must have Antonio's then." Mr. Carreido sighed and moved the books to the coffee table, "I'll call them later, they might be in the middle of eating right now."

"Esteban! You could at least provide some idea! Tacos, salad…" Ana sighed in frustration, "I can't just pick something in here!"

"Isn't that what you're asking us to do?" Cruz stared at her, "And there's no salad dressing last time I looked."

"Oh, well then, salad is out. Tacos it is." Ana disappeared again, "Decision making done."

"How the hell did that decide what we were having? Were those the choices?" Cruz glanced towards the other, who was looking just as confused as he was.

"I guess so! In any case, until your parents come back from their business trip, you can sleep in the spare room next to Antonio's." Esteban shook his head before moving around the table.

Cruz shrugged and remained at the table. Going home the previous day had left him with the discovery of a note saying his parents had headed off on a business trip and a phone number to stay with relatives if he didn't want to be by himself. Not that Cruz cared one way or another, somehow he doubted Matthew wouldn't be very happy at that idea (though looking back now, it shouldn't have mattered…) so he found himself at the Carreido household. Though there was one question still in his mind.

 _'How the hell am I related to these people.'_ Cruz hit his forehead against the table. If anything, he and Antonio were complete opposites. Distant cousins at best was the only way he could think of. _'…I think I would have taken my chances at home…'_ He glanced towards the kitchen, head still resting on the table, and watched the faint smoke cloud drift out of the smaller room. _'She seriously cannot cook.'_

"Ana, not again!" Esteban ran from the living room and into the kitchen, "I am not having another blackened dinner because you're not watching the timer!"

 _'Another he says…what the heck. Why do you even let her cook then.'_ Cruz lifted up his head and started hitting it against the table again. This was complete idiocy.

"Hiiiii~"

Cruz glanced up to see a very groggy (and loopy) Antonio wander into the room, "…Your mother is burning the crap out of something."

"We're used to it…" Antonio swayed in one spot before collapsing in the nearest chair, "I need food…"

"Kinda figured that's why you came down." Cruz turned his gaze away, opting to look out the dining room window instead.

Antonio rested his head against the table, eyes staring vacantly at some random spot on the wall, "…Why're you here…?" He glanced towards Cruz again.

"Because my parents are out of town." Cruz grumbled. _Normally they don't give the option to go to someone's house though. I wonder if they got another warning from the police._ _Thought I kept the volume on the stereo down this time._

"Cousins~" Antonio stretched out his arms towards Cruz across the table.

Cruz sent him a withering glare, his only movement was leaning away from the arms, "Don't even try a hug. You are seriously drugged."

"Am noooooot~" Antonio waved his arms up and down, still reaching out towards Cruz, "Cousins should totally hug~"

"Not happening." Cruz scowled, "Keep your drugged up arms away from me."

"Huuuuuuuuuuuuug!" Antonio persisted.

"I said no, damn it!" Cruz yelled.

.

.

* * *

Lovino listened to the commotion out in the hallway with a vacant stare on his face. It had only taken less than a minute before complete pandemonium had occurred somewhere and whatever _had_ happened sent nurses and doctors flying through the hallway in a panic. He wasn't sure exactly what, but evidently there was someone going to the emergency room. That was about all he could overhear.

"He's still not awake." Arthur glanced over at Gilbert. Their friend had fallen asleep, claiming to be tired, and had yet to awake. Some concern was starting to show on Arthur's face, as the albino had fallen asleep several hours ago.

"Since when does he take a damn nap anyway…he's always so frickin' energetic." Lovino grumbled.

"Medication…?" Arthur suggested quietly, "It's the only thing I can think of."

"He shouldn't have even stopped taking it…seriously. That was a suicide attempt by itself." Lovino crossed his arms and scowled.

"And my going in front of a car wasn't?" Arthur raised an eyebrow.

"I never said it wasn't! Seriously, why am I the only one here by accidental means?" Lovino looked up towards the ceiling in frustration, hitting his head against the pillow, "This is ridiculous!"

Arthur looked towards the door again as another flurry of activity was getting louder, sounding like it was approaching their room, "Are we on the path to the emergency room?"

"We might be." Lovino shrugged, "Hell if I know, I was too drugged on pain meds to really take notice of where the hell the room was."

"I don't remember." Arthur blinked, "I think we were close in case of an emergency with Gilbert…but I don't know how close we are."

"Well that would make sense…" Lovino shrugged.

Arthur leaned over to see two nurses run by, yelling to whoever was further up the hallway to prepare for an emergency coming through, "...Oh. I guess an ambulance must have brought someone i-in…"

"What the hell was with the pause?" Lovino stared across the room at him.

Arthur watched as the gurney went by, being pushed by a member of the medical staff, with someone else trying to talk to the person laying down, "…Um…" He glanced at Lovino tentatively, not sure how to respond.

"What?" Lovino blinked, "Did you know who it was?"

"…" Arthur continued to remain silent, chewing on his bottom lip in discomfort.

"I will seriously come over there or throw something at you until you answer me." Lovino scowled, "Tell me already!"

"Roma just…went that way." Arthur motioned towards the wall, indicating the direction towards the emergency room.

"So?" Lovino leaned back again, "Unless he was the one being taken there, I don't see what the pause was for…" Lovino looked back at Arthur, sudden realization dawning on his face.

"…" Arthur glanced back towards Gilbert, "...I wonder if we should call someone for him…"

"Are you kidding me?!" Lovino snapped, "Now what the hell did that idiot do!" His hand grabbed the pillow in frustration and he hurled it at the wall, "Geez!" Lovino hit his head against the mattress and let out a strangled noise.

"…" Arthur let out a quiet sigh. Long day indeed. "Gilbert?" Arthur tried, calling the name softly to try not to startle him, though why he even bothered trying to not startle was completely pointless. Especially with the ranting that Lovino was doing, "Gilbert!" Arthur raised his voice.

"…ticks her off!" Lovino continued to curse before glaring over at Gilbert, "And don't even tell me now something happened with _him_!"

"…" Arthur swung his legs out over the side of the bed and wandered over to his bedside, trying to gently shake him awake, "Gilbert…"

Lovino watched for a few minutes of Arthur being unsuccessful before throwing up his hands, "This is ridiculous! Can we not go one day without something happening?!"

"…Gilbert." Arthur started tapping Gilbert on the shoulder, before resorting to a light slap (also on his shoulder), but failed to get a response, "…"

"He's out." Lovino hit his head back on the mattress, "Terrific. Grandpa's in emergency and Gilbert's out cold. This is just damn peachy!"

Arthur glanced at the heart monitor that was still attached to Gilbert, "…His heart rate dropped…"

"Rate of breathing slows down when someone is asleep doesn't it?" Lovino glanced over at him.

"Yeah…but…" Arthur looked back down at Gilbert, "…" There was a vague, unsettling feeling coming over Arthur that something was definitely wrong.

Lovino noticed Arthur's reluctance to leave Gilbert and reached over to hit the call button next to his bed, "Nurse is coming."

Arthur drifted back to his own bed and crawled back under the covers, staring at the ceiling in silence. Allistor hadn't returned after the morning's argument between adults, so he was assuming the redhead was denied visiting rights.

"What's wrong?" A nurse scurried into the room only a few minutes later and looked between the two who were awake.

"Him." Lovino pointed at Gilbert, "You try and wake him up. We can't."

The nurse frowned and went over to Gilbert's side, attempting the same things that Arthur had tried, and got the exact same response. "…" She glanced at the monitors, worried lines appearing across her forehead.

"Well now!"

Arthur jumped as a sudden booming male voice echoed from the doorway, and turned his head to see their doctor entering the room, "…"

"Well now what?" Lovino glared daggers at the doctor, "You keep doing that every time you enter the damn room!"

"Observation checked out, so I think you two should be able to depart for home!" The doctor just looked back and forth between the two, ignoring Lovino's frustrated expression at his entrance.

"Oh great." Arthur rubbed his forehead, "And how long am I wearing this thing…?"

"No using that arm, first of all, secondly, as long as you don't injure yourself any further…" (Lovino let out a quiet snort, causing Arthur to glare at him) "Your arm should be healed in 3-4 weeks. It was a clean break, so you're lucky on that regard."

"…Obviously that's the only streak of luck I'm ever going to get." Arthur rolled his eyes.

"The bandage is staying on, don't take it off." The doctor cast a warning glance to Lovino, "And you should be healed in a period of six weeks or so. Provided you don't run into another wall."

"Oh sure. No problem." Lovino said sarcastically, "I will strive to do my best to that lofty goal there."

"Your brother brought along a change of clothes, as did your mother." The earlier statement was directed towards Arthur, answering the unasked question about Allistor, while Lovino scoffed at the comment about his parent, "So, here you are…and…what's wrong over here?" He laid the two outfits down on their beds before joining the nurse by Gilbert.

Arthur did his best to ignore the conversation they were having in hushed tone while he pulled on the jeans underneath the gown he was wearing (and still mentally cursing at). At least Alfred hadn't come by, he definitely would have had a fit. This gown was bad enough without having him see it.

Lovino muttered curses under his breath but pulled the gown over his head and struggled for a few minutes to yank on the shirt without hitting his nose (unsuccessful, though). "Damn Antonio. I'm getting him back for this." He brushed his jeans off and stood up, stretching out his legs one by one before glancing back at Arthur.

"You have no idea how hard it is to put on a shirt with this thing." Arthur scowled, still trying to get his cast in through the armhole first.

Lovino smirked in amusement and watched the struggle without offering to help.

Arthur scowled, but finally succeeded and pulled the shirt on over his head, "About time!" He shook his head, shooting another glare in Lovino's direction (suspicious of the noise that had sounded like laughter).

"Yeah, yeah. I wonder if dad's in the waiting room…" Lovino peered hesitantly out into the hall, "I don't want to find out…"

"At least no one from my family was present for that fiasco." Arthur said flatly, "You have fun with that fallout." He looked back towards Gilbert, "…Is he okay?"

The nurse peered around the male standing next to her, "…He will be. Don't worry~"

Arthur smiled and headed out into the hallway, Lovino following behind.

"She was lying wasn't she." Lovino whispered.

"And doing a really bad job." Arthur sighed, "But I'm not about to point that out to her. She was trying to prevent us from worrying."

"Well she did a hell of a job." Lovino scowled and stalked down the hallway towards the waiting room, though a glance was cast back over his shoulder towards the emergency room doors.

"Did you want to go ask someone?" Arthur looked at him in concern.

"If mom and dad are both in the waiting room, I just have to ask them." Lovino grumbled.

"Are you sure they know?" Arthur tilted his head.

"Well who else would have called an ambulance." Lovino snapped.

"…" Arthur followed along behind Lovino. _'I guess he was expecting this to happen at some point. He doesn't seem overly surprised…just frustrated.'_

Arthur spotted Allistor (and Reilly, much to his surprise) sitting on a grey bench and made his way over (rather hastily upon also spotting both of Lovino's parents).

"Mom and dad are currently pitching fits at home with pipsqueak." Allistor commented, standing up, "I don't even think they heard the phone ring."

"…" Arthur let out a heavy sigh at the nickname for Peter, "You know you're the reason he keeps yelling about his height…"

"Watch me not care~" Allistor grinned and led the way out the door, half-pulling Arthur, "I'm not listening to any crap family issues in the waiting room with those three."

Arthur gave Lovino a look of sympathy before exiting the building with Reilly following behind him, "What were mom and dad arguing with Peter about?"

"No clue. I was trying to block out the conversation." Allistor shrugged, "And I was doing a fine job of it, at least until the phone rang."

"Just something about Peter getting hauled down to the office for insulting a teacher." Reilly commented, a bored expression on his face, "It wasn't really so much as an argument, as it was a lecture on respecting elders."

"That's one lecture that hardly worked on anyone else, and is certainly not going to work on him." Arthur sighed.

"Yeah, well, one of these times it's going to sink in eventually." Allistor commented, "Until then, obviously they're not going to stop trying."

Arthur blinked and followed along in silence. _'Not going to stop trying…'_

* * *

.

.

Lovino just stood a couple feet away from his parents, giving them a look of annoyance, but didn't say anything out loud. And really the only thing he was grateful for at the moment (other than being released from this damn hospital), was that Feliciano hadn't come along. Last thing he needed was an over-emotional idiot hugging him.

"You can take him home if you want to…" Alexander turned to look at Amelia.

"Hell no. I'm not leaving until someone on this idiotic staff says grandpa is okay." Lovino snapped, stopping any comment that his mother would have made, "Don't even try that crap."

"I'm not fighting with you in a waiting room." Alexander sighed, "And it will be a while before we hear anything, he's…"

Lovino's eyes narrowed slightly, "Excuse me. What part of I'm not leaving did you not hear the first time? I don't care how long I have to sit in one of these stupid seats, I'm. Not. Leaving." He turned on his heel and plopped down in one of the chairs, pointedly glaring at both of them in a silent dare to say anything else.

"…He has your stubborn attitude." Amelia smiled at her husband, "I guess we're all staying!"

"This is going to be a really long afternoon." Alexander just shook his head and sat two seats away from Lovino (with Amelia opting to sit in-between the two males).

"Bonding time~" Amelia leaned back in the chair, stretching out her arms in front of her, "Oh by the way, mix-up with the principal handing out books. We only got one of your notebooks and the rest was all Antonio's for some reason." She held out the tomato-print notebook towards Lovino.

 _'That explains a lot.'_ Lovino just glared at the notebook. _'Should have burned the damn thing.'_ "Not much of a mix-up then."

"You don't count us only getting one of your notebooks as a mix-up?" Amelia tilted her head.

"Not when Antonio had it to begin with." Lovino took the notebook and dropped it on the stand next to him, "He's had it since study hall."

Amelia blinked a couple times and tilted her head in confusion, "…Why did he have it…"

"How the heck should I know. Ask him why he took it." Lovino leaned his head against the wall, staring upwards once more. _'And at least if I stay…I might overhear something about Gilbert.'_ His head turned as Ludwig came in the doors and walked towards the front desk. _'…I wonder if their dad didn't tell him about this morning…'_

"Can I help you?" The receptionist blinked at Ludwig.

"Is Gilbert still in the same room as he was yesterday?" Ludwig asked hesitantly, "Sorry, I just didn't want to go there without checking first…"

"Oh, he is…but…I believe visiting rights were taken… there was a fight or something among visitors this morning." The receptionst frowned, "I'd have to ask the doctor if you're allowed to see him…one moment." She walked away before Ludwig had time to respond.

"What?" Ludwig watched as she vanished down the hall, then turned to look to where Lovino was sitting with his parents, "What fight?"

"Ask that idiot." Lovino motioned to his dad.

"How am I the idiot here?" Alexander protested.

"Don't argue. You both will get us all thrown out." Amelia cut them off.

Lovino stuck his tongue out at his dad before rolling his eyes at Ludwig.

Ludwig tilted his head in confusion, "…" Any further comments were left unspoken as the doctor who had been in the room when Lovino and Arthur left came towards Ludwig, "Sorry, I didn't hear about the…no visitors."

"Oh, it's fine. I know you weren't there this morning. It was just parents." The doctor waved a hand carelessly (much to Lovino's amusement), "And in any case, there was a change in your brother's condition."

 _'He clearly doesn't even see us sitting here.'_ Lovino watched as the conversation passed back and forth between Ludwig and the doctor, ears pricking up at the last sentence.

Ludwig blinked, "Was-what happened?"

"When we were dosing the medication for your brother, in order to try and stabilize him after the surgery we had to increase the amount…but it seems there was a reaction…"

"Sorry…but can you try summarizing that? Is Gilbert okay?" Ludwig blinked several times, trying to comprehend what he was being told.

"My apologies, he's stable, but he's unresponsive. He does seem able to breathe on his own, we have him on monitors to make sure there is no further complications…"

"What…?" Ludwig stared at the doctor (Lovino had to give the blonde credit, the look on his face was completely expressionless).

The doctor scratched the back of his head, "Not sure how to go about saying this, it's hard to tell a parent, let alone a sibling, when someone's condition worsens."

"You didn't call my parents yet, did you?" Ludwig looked around the waiting room, as if expecting to see the rest of his family there.

"No, we were only just made aware of it not that long ago. It seems he fell asleep but didn't wake up." The doctor sighed.

"…What am I supposed to say to them?" Ludwig asked finally, now looking suddenly worn out, "If they were in that room this morning with the fight, they're already not going to be in any mood to hear about this."

Lovino kicked his legs back and forth, staring at a spot on the floor. Of all the things to happen…it seemed like this day was just getting worse and worse by the hour. Lovino lifted his head up to look towards Ludwig, and noticed the blonde was looking like he was ready to cry (which was a shock by itself). "…" Startling both his parents, Lovino stood up and went out the doors (thankfully right next to where they were sitting). _'If I don't get fresh air or something, I'm going to be having a fit.'_

He plopped down on the stone bench that was underneath a tree only a few steps away and stared up through the branches at the cloudy sky. _'I wonder who's going to tell Roderich that…'_

"Lovino?" Amelia asked quietly, approaching with some caution.

Lovino didn't answer and continued to stare upwards, blinking back the tears that were suddenly threatening to fall. Of all the stupid things that could have happened…why did he choose something that he knew could end up killing him… _'Is it really that much beyond hope that we could do_ something _to change the way we react to crap that we're given?'_

Amelia sat beside Lovino and peered up at the clouds, "Looks like snow…"

"…Yeah." Lovino just nodded without looking towards her.

"Maybe he just needed the rest." Amelia commented, "Our brains force us to sleep when we're exhausted."

"Maybe he's just an idiot." Lovino said flatly.

"Nobody's an idiot." Amelia huffed, using one arm to pull Lovino into a hug, "Cheer up~ Everything is going to work out okay!"

* * *

.

.

Grammar and combining chapters.


	29. Early Dismissal

Moving on.

* * *

.

.

Matthew sat on the front steps of the school building, overlooking the schoolyard while waiting for his friends to mingle in. It had definitely been a stressful couple of days (which had seemed to last the entire week). Yesterday had been the worst by far with the news of Gilbert, but he managed to keep himself held together (for the most part, there may have been some household items that ended up being broken in a fit). He blinked when Arthur came into the schoolyard, lifting up his arm to give a small wave.

Arthur returned the wave with a less-than-enthusiastic look on his face. "I can only imagine the trouble I'm in for skipping class." He joined Matthew and leaned up against the brickwall beside where the other blonde was sitting.

"Eh, I wouldn't worry too much about it. No doubt the principal said something to your teachers already." Matthew smiled, "Any bets on how long it will be until Alfred gets here?"

"You didn't wake him up before you left, did you?" Arthur shook his head but couldn't help but laugh.

"Nope. He can get himself up." Matthew leaned against the steps, "If he's going to leave me to get in trouble for being late, he can get in trouble for being late. Oh, so how upset were your parents?"

"Uh…let's just say Reilly, Allistor and myself are all grounded for sheer stupidity." Arthur forced a smile, "Nothing like family togetherness. For an indefinite amount of time."

Matthew winced and sighed, "Ouch. Good luck with that one. Any word on how Ludwig or anyone else in his family is doing?"

"I haven't seen them since yesterday morning. Though…Ludwig is here apparently. He seems to be fine." Arthur motioned with his good hand to the opposite end of the schoolyard where Ludwig had just appeared from around the corner.

"Oh, that's good. Hopefully his parents are okay…" Matthew tilted his head, "I'm not sure if I should ask or just not bring it up…"

"If the argument was any indication, I'm certainly not asking how his parents are doing. I was stuck in that room during that entire thing, there is no way I'm saying anything." Arthur blinked as Cruz and Antonio appeared a minute later, "They came to school together?"

"Apparently." Matthew blinked a few times, "Eh? Oh. That's right. Cruz did post an update yesterday about living with relatives while his parents were out of town. I guess Antonio was one of the relatives."

"…Talk about polar opposites." Arthur muttered.

"A bit." Matthew nodded.

"Morning." Ludwig glanced at both of them on his way past, "You haven't seen Roderich yet, have you?"

"I haven't. I've been here a little while now. Not unless he got here really early." Matthew looked up at Ludwig, "…Are you okay?"

"…I'm fine." Ludwig managed a smile, "Maybe Roderich is in the student council room…" He headed into the building without any further comments.

"More power to the both of them for signing up for that this year." Arthur made a face, "Last year on the council of two was bad enough."

"Morning." Cruz interrupted.

"Hiiii~" Antonio waved with much more enthusiasm.

"Morning." Arthur gave a half-hearted wave.

"Good morning." Matthew smiled cheerfully, "Feeling better, Antonio?"

"Huh? Why?" Antonio tilted his head.

"Eh, word got around that you weren't feeling yourself yesterday." Matthew laughed.

"Wouldn't know how that happened." Cruz smirked and looked away.

"What'd you say~" Antonio hit Cruz on the arm, "Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat~"

Mr. Smith peered out the doors at the mingling students in the courtyard, "There's going to be a LOT of people in the office if some movement doesn't happen soon!"

"I can move to leave." Cruz glared at the principal.

"Movement towards the classroom. You know what I meant." Mr. Smith motioned towards the doors, "Move it!"

"Sheesh." Matthew picked himself up off the steps and headed into the building, "Can't even sit outside in the morning before the bell rings!"

"Please let this day be better than the last time I was here…" Arthur climbed up the stairs and headed into the building.

"Don't hold your breath." Cruz muttered, "You'll pass out."

"Don't be mean." Antonio hit Cruz on the shoulder again.

"You want a fight?" Cruz glared at his cousin before moving down the hall.

"Alfred's gonna be late~" Matthew laughed.

Arthur shook his head, briefly wondering if Alfred had even set his alarm for the morning. _'Maybe I should send him a message…'_ He pulled out his cell phone and tapped in a quick message to Alfred. _'…Of course that's only going to do something if he's actually semi-awake enough to hear it go off.'_

 **Arthur: Alfred, you're aware school is starting right? You had better not still be in bed.**

 **Alfred: O_O CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP. I'M LATE.**

 **Matthew: XD I'm not~**

 **Alfred: Mattie! You're so mean!**

 **Cruz: :) Have fun in the office, Jones!**

 **Antonio: D: Hurry up Alfred~**

 **Roderich: Why are you all so energetic in the morning.**

 **Ludwig: … Gott. Run Alfred!**

 **Alfred: I'm running, I'm running!**

 **Allistor: ****. Hey! Brother! At least make sure the rest of us are up next time!**

 **Arthur: …I thought your alarms were going off.**

 **Matthew: XD**

 **Cruz: XD**

 **Antonio: D: Run people~ Run like the wind!**

 **Lovino: Yeah. Run away. Before the principal catches you all and yanks you to the office.**

 **Antonio: :D Lovi! Are you at school already?**

 **Lovino: No. I'm skipping.**

 **Antonio: D:**

 **Arthur: XD**

 **Roderich: …You people…**

 **Ludwig: I'm not sure how to respond to any of this…**

 **BigStiff: GET TO CLASS.**

 **Ludwig: Oh, hallo Vati**

 **Arthur: Oh, hello.**

 **Cruz: It's all fun until a parent steps in. :P**

 **Roderich: *large sigh* I'm in class already.**

 **Alfred: Working on it!**

 **Allistor: To hell with this. I'm walking, not running.**

 **Reilly: Screw this crap.**

 **Arthur: XD**

Arthur looked up from his phone at the teacher. Mr. Specks was currently giving a lecture on…something. If he had heard correctly, it had something to do with the Civil War, but he hadn't been paying much attention at the start of class. Arthur leaned back in his chair and glanced at the notes across the board. His eyes slowly went to the corner and a smile appeared across his face. There was a small amount of graffiti drawn on the corner.

 **Arthur: XD I wonder if the teacher noticed**

 **Roderich: ?**

 **Arthur: The corner of the board says 'someone way awesomer than this annoying crap teacher was here'**

 **Ludwig: *large sigh***

 **BigStiff: He didn't…oh mein gott.**

 **Cruz: I'm betting the teacher didn't notice.**

 **Arthur: Well. It'd be pretty hard to erase. It's marker on a chalkboard.**

 **BigStiff: …what.**

 **Cruz: I heard you laugh Ludwig.**

 **Ludwig: Couldn't help it.**

 **Antonio: He has left his mark for everyone to see~**

 **BigStiff: That's destruction of school property.**

 **Arthur: XD**

Arthur smiled and watched as Mr. Specks' attention was slowly drawn to the corner of the board. The teacher picked up an eraser and tried rubbing over the marker, only to find nothing happening.

"Who did this?" Mr. Specks pointed to the board.

 _'I wonder when he did that…'_ Arthur tilted his head.

"That is destruction of school property! Marker can't be washed off a chalkboard!" Mr. Specks snapped.

Arthur looked upwards towards the ceiling, "It's not like you're going to be using the whole board. You erase it every five minutes."

Several heads turned to look at him before Arthur had even realized he had said that out loud.

"I know. I know. To the office with my sarcastic comments." Arthur smiled before Mr. Specks could say anything, "I'm going." He stood up and walked out, carrying his books in one arm, "And for the record, the person who did that isn't here today." Arthur smiled and disappeared out into the hall, glancing down it to see Alfred running around the corner.

"Oh hey!" Alfred waved, "Where you going?"

"I got sent to the office for my sarcastic comments." Arthur shrugged.

"That started early." Alfred slowed down to walk next to him, "You okay?" He leaned forward to peer at Arthur.

Arthur glanced at him with a questioning look, "I'm fine. Why?"

"Dunno, you seem depressed." Alfred rubbed the back of his head uncertainly.

"Yeah well, maybe it's just the events of the last few days." Arthur stopped in front of the office, "Good luck in math, though I'm sure you'll be back shortly."

"Yeah…I know…" Alfred wilted, "Maybe I should just save time and head in there now…"

"Entirely up to you." Arthur smiled and headed into the office, updating his status as he went.

 **Arthur: In the office. Surprise. Couldn't keep my mouth shut that time.**

 **Allistor: Way to go, idiot.**

 **Roderich: I don't even want to know…**

 **Arthur: I told him he wasn't using the whole board so one little corner didn't matter.**

 **Antonio: XD**

 **Lovino: Oh for…**

 **Alfred: XD At least the trip to the office was worth it!**

 **Arthur: Quite. :)**

 **Reilly: Remember that when you get home after the principal tells on you.**

 **Cruz: XD**

 **Ludwig: What is with our gym teacher this morning?**

 **Cruz: I'm in class :P He's still mad at me for yesterday.**

 **Matthew: XD**

 **Ludwig: :I He's making us run eight laps!**

 **BigStiff: What the heck…**

 **Lovino: I'd be in the office already.**

 **Roderich: …I'm agreeing with Lovino. There is no way I'm running that many.**

 **Antonio: XD**

 **.**

 **.**

* * *

"MOVE IT!"

Cruz glared over at their gym teacher, putting his phone away for a moment, "Why don't you move your sorry hide onto the running track!"

 **Ludwig: Oh he's moving it now.**

 **Cruz: Oh **** RUN!**

 **Ludwig: OH GOTT.**

 **Roderich: ._. What did you do.**

 **BigStiff: ._.**

 **Arthur: Should I tell the principal to go down there?**

 **Cruz: GEEZ. SOMEONE NEEDS TO TAKE A CHILL PILL THIS MORNING.**

 **Lovino: Yup. Avoid gym class.**

 **Roderich: Noted.**

 **Antonio: o_o Run Cruz~**

Cruz bolted across the track with Ludwig only a few steps behind him, "Geez!"

"Next time, don't say anything!" Ludwig called, staying right behind him.

"Oh sure. Next time I don't plan on being here." Cruz grumbled.

Mr. Howard continued chasing them across the asphalt, oblivious to the other students that stopped and were now watching the three tear around the grounds.

"Can we just save time and our breaths and head to the office?" Cruz glanced back at Ludwig.

"I'm not stopping to discuss that option! Run down there!" Ludwig responded, bolting through the changing room doors after Cruz.

"I wasn't planning on stopping." Cruz rolled his eyes and hurried into the hallway, barely pausing when he hit the door, "Office would be safer right now anyway!"

"He's still chasing." Ludwig glanced over his shoulder as they rounded the corner.

"The hell is his problem?!" Cruz grabbed the handle to the office and ran in, slamming it shut as soon as Ludwig bolted after him.

"Feels like I just saw you two." Arthur looked at them with an amused expression, "Did he chase you two the whole way down here?"

"Shut up, and yes." Cruz snapped, "Geez." He hurried over to an empty seat and plopped down, letting out a long sigh, "That covered my running for the week."

"Don't aggravate him." Ludwig sat next to Cruz, "Now I'm in trouble and I didn't even do anything."

Mr. Howard stalked into the office and glared at both Ludwig and Cruz, "You two are the most disruptive idiots I have had in my class!"

"Disruptive?" Ludwig stared at him, "I didn't even say anything! You were the one chasing us!"

"Idiots?" Cruz blinked, "Is that really the best retort you can come up with? All I did was tell you to move it instead of yelling at us all the time."

Alfred leaned forward to peer around Arthur, "… It's gotten quite a bit louder in here…"

"Yeah. It has." Arthur sighed.

Mr. Smith walked out of the office, raising an eyebrow to the three arguing with one another, "Mr. Howard. If you're down here, what is your class doing?"

The gym teacher stared at the principal for a moment before looking back at Cruz, who just grinned and waved at him.

Ludwig let out a long sigh.

"Last time I saw, they were just standing on the running track with shocked looks on their faces." Cruz smirked.

"Get back to your class!" Mr. Smith sighed in frustration, "You don't just leave in the middle of it without finding a substitute!"

"Ja, really. And you didn't have to chase us the whole way down here either." Ludwig added.

"…" Mr. Smith looked at Ludwig then back at Mr. Howard, "You were running down here?"

"He can move when he has motivation." Cruz leaned on the armrest.

"You're gonna end up suspended…" Alfred whispered, "Shhh…"

"Like I give a crap." Cruz snapped.

"You chased your students down here." Mr. Smith stared at Mr. Howard in disbelief.

"Those two are constantly disruptive!" Mr. Howard retorted.

"I haven't even said anything!" Ludwig raised his voice, "Not once!"

"Yeah, just me." Cruz looked with a bored expression back and forth between the two.

"Clearly there are a lot of guidelines that need looked over…in the meantime. Out." Mr. Smith pointed towards the door, glaring at the gym teacher, "Disruptive behavior is one thing, chasing students down a hallway is another. Go back to the rest of your class, if they're even still there by this time."

Mr. Howard opened his mouth as if to protest and the principal cut him off, "NOW."

Cruz watched the older male stalk out of the office. "…"

"What are you two down here for?" Mr. Smith looked at Arthur and Alfred in exasperation.

"Not keeping my mouth shut." Arthur commented.

"Laaaate…figured I'd save time and just come straight here instead of going to class…" Alfred gave a grin.

"You all…are going to be the main cause for any of my hairs going gray." Mr. Smith glared at the four students, "Especially you." He motioned to Cruz before stalking into his separate room.

"How rude." Cruz scoffed, "Course if that was our teacher today, I don't even want to see him tomorrow. Or the rest of the year."

"SCHEDULE CHANGES." Mr. Smith snapped, leaning out of the room again, "Since obviously there's going to be repeated problems with you three and your first class."

"All I did was open my mouth one time…" Arthur started.

"And walk out of class." Mr. Smith added.

"He opened the invitation." Arthur spoke up in his own defense.

Alfred burst out into fits of laughter.

"Either way, expect schedule changes to be handed to you during lunch, and while we're on the subject…" Mr. Smith glared at Cruz, "Absolutely NO food fights."

"Why are you always looking at me when you say something else?" Cruz raised an eyebrow, "I didn't even start that."

"I'm certainly not going to be doing a food fight." Ludwig made a face.

"What else are we supposed to do with something that's inedible?" Alfred blinked.

Mr. Smith heaved a huge sigh and hit his forehead against the doorframe.

"Alfred. Hush." Arthur smacked him on the back of the head, having to turn almost completely in the chair to do so since Alfred was sitting on Arthur's left side.

"Just…sit there. Until the first class is over, and TRY not to get sent down here again. This is ridiculous." Mr. Smith disappeared into the room again and shut the door behind him.

"I wonder how many more years he has until retirement." Ludwig blinked.

Cruz smirked, "I'm sure if you asked he could give you the exact number of years and days."

"That's pretty sad." Alfred sighed.

"The fact that we're all sitting down here like it's normal is sad in itself." Arthur commented dryly.

"Speak for yourself, we were chased by a madman." Cruz grumbled.

"Ja. Literally chased. He was sprinting after us the entire time." Ludwig leaned against the back of the chair. "Should one of us say we made it safely?"

"Probably." Cruz shrugged.

Arthur pulled out his phone and typed in a message since neither Cruz or Ludwig had bothered taking their phones out.

 **Arthur: Ludwig and Cruz are unscathed in the office.**

 **Matthew: Oh that's a relief. Teacher didn't catch them?**

 **Arthur: Oh he caught up to them. But the principal came out, so they're fine.**

 **Roderich: …he wasn't seriously going to do something was he?**

 **Alfred: Thankfully we will never have to know. Good luck in gym! :D**

 **Roderich: You have it before me. Next bell in fact.**

 **Alfred: I'm so skipping D:**

 **Antonio: XD**

 **Feliciano: I'm not going by myself! Don't skip!**

 **BigStiff: If the teacher is that bad, don't go. :I**

 **Ludwig: Vati seal of approval. ._.**

 **Roderich: Works for me.**

 **Arthur: XD**

 **Allistor: Somehow I doubt our parents or the principal is going to go for that.**

 **Arthur: We're already grounded, couldn't possibly get any worse.**

 **Reilly: He's got a point. I'm not going.**

 **Allistor: Everytime someone says that, it gets worse. I'm going.**

 **Cruz: XD**

 **Alfred: Good luck!**

* * *

 **.**

 **.**

 **Second Bell**

Alfred shivered, bouncing up and down to try and keep warm while standing outside. "Seriously! It feels like it's gonna start snowing anytime now!"

"Waaaaah, he's in a seriously bad mood!" Feliciano cowered behind Alfred while their teacher went back and forth ranting (completely ignoring the entire class).

"Yeah this is kinda scary…" Alfred laughed nervously, "M-maybe we should start running now… before he turns and sees us all just standing here…"

"Can we just sneak back in the building? Maybe he won't even notice we're here~" Feliciano tugged on Alfred's arm, "Let's just go back in…"

"It was your idea to come out here in the first place!" Alfred protested, "I was fine with skipping!"

"You all aren't in this class to stand around gawking like a bunch of idiots! Get running!" Mr. Howard suddenly snapped at the entire class.

"Eep!" Feliciano darted past everyone and hastily started going around the track.

"Aw, man, and I was seriously going to leave…" Alfred sighed and jogged after Feliciano, "I should have just skipped…"

* * *

.

.

Miss Summers sat at the table with Arthur, both of them just staring at the other person without saying anything. Arthur remained unfazed despite the overcheerful smile on his teacher's face and quietly waited for her to be the first to say something ( _anything_ at this point).

"So…this is a small class." Miss Summers started.

"Yeah." Arthur agreed, "And between the two of us, we only have three hands."

"Which takes out pretty much anything on the class curriculum." Miss Summers wilted and laid her head down on the table, "What are we supposed to do~"

"You're the teacher." Arthur rolled his eyes and looked away.

"Let's go on a field trip!" Miss Summers stood up suddenly.

"Wait, you just lost me." Arthur stared at her in horror, "We're doing _what_?"

"FIELD TRIP!" Miss Summers twirled over to the closet and pulled out her coat, "Let's go!"

"Waiiiiiit, where are we even going?" Arthur panicked but quickly hurried after her, "Is this allowed?"

Miss Summers skipped down the hall, swinging her arms like a small child would, "Of course we are~ Life is much too short to follow all the rules all the time~"

"…" Arthur followed along behind her silently. _'Who does she remind me of…'_

"So where should we go…?" Miss Summers tapped a finger to her chin thoughtfully, "It's a beautiful day outside…oh. We should stop and get your coat first. Where's your locker?"

"We're going outside…" Arthur whispered, "Uh…just up this way…" Arthur motioned to an adjacent hallway.

"Great, we'll go out the side entrance then~" Miss Summers followed Arthur towards his locker, "Ideas, ideas…where to go…"

 _'How did home education turn into a field trip…'_ Arthur cried inwardly. _'Doesn't this count as skipping?!'_

* * *

.

.

Lovino stared at the back of Ludwig's head. Well, it was all fine and just damn peachy that he was able to attend school, but Lovino certainly didn't want to be here. He stared at the board for a while, letting his mind wander instead of paying attention.

"Well I'm sure at any rate that you tried your hardest on the homework…however… that's not even close." Mrs. Rose looked at the student at the board and picked up a marker to correct him, "Here…"

"…I don't even want to listen to this." Ludwig suddenly laid his head down and heaved a huge sigh, "My mind is not focused on math right now."

"Great, neither is mine." Lovino slumped in his seat.

"Do you two want to play cards?" Ivan leaned over, holding out a small deck, "Yao and I were about to deal again."

Ludwig stared back at Ivan in disbelief, before his gaze went to the Chinese boy sitting in front of the Russian, "…You two have been playing cards this entire time…"

"Well it's not like there's anything else to do." Yao shrugged.

How Lovino hadn't even noticed that Yao was half turned in his chair towards Ivan for the entire time, he had no clue. "I really have been spacing out…gah." Lovino buried his face in his hands before hitting his head against the desk.

"Ah." Ivan blinked, "Are you okay?"

"Just freaking peachy." Lovino scowled.

"…What game are you playing?" Ludwig leaned closer to Yao's desk.

"Ivan cheats at poker, so we're playing go fish." Yao glared at the taller male sitting behind him.

"I do not cheat. You are just sore loser." Ivan smiled cheerfully.

"…I'll play." Ludwig moved his desk closer and took the cards offered out to him.

"Gimme." Lovino finally reached over with an open hand.

"Okay…then Lovino can go first and we will go clockwise from there." Ivan smiled.

"Ugh fine… uh… you have any fours?" Lovino raised an eyebrow at Ludwig.

"Nein…" Ludwig shook his head.

"There are only four?" Yao tilted his head.

"Nein means no." Ludwig's face reddened.

"I knew what it meant!" Lovino snapped, drawing a card.

"This is so much fun~" Ivan laughed.

* * *

.

.

Roderich, having spotted the graffiti that Arthur had mentioned over the phone upon his entry of the room, kept his notebook open on the desk, calmly scratching out the words that their teacher was writing on the board.

Cruz propped his feet up on the empty chair in front of him (apparently the usual person who sat there was absent today) and made no attempt at all to even look like he was paying attention.

Matthew had his notebook open, holding his pen as if he was about to take notes, but he just stared at the board with his head tilted to one side. "…This feels familiar…"

"Hm?" Roderich looked at him questioningly, "Familiar? Like a déjà vu moment?"

"No…like we learned this last year." Matthew blinked, "I feel like I already know this…"

"All the more reason to not pay attention at all." Cruz said flatly, eyes closed.

"Don't go to sleep!" Roderich hissed.

"Why not." Cruz opened one eye to glare at him around Matthew's head.

"Eh…" Matthew let out a quiet sigh, "This is just one of those days that's going to drag on…"

Roderich let out an angry huff of air and shook his head, returning his attention to the board, only to find it had been erased, "Ah."

Cruz let out a muffled laugh behind his hand, receiving an icy glare from Roderich in retort.

"…" Matthew looked between the two before letting out another sigh, "Why did I choose to sit in between you two…" His gaze drifted towards the door, staring in confusion as Miss Summers and Arthur went by, "…" _'I wonder where they're going…'_

* * *

.

.

"Keep running!"

"Whaaaat!" Feliciano cried but kept going around the track, "We've been running for so long already!"

"Okay, that does it. What the heck!" Alfred stopped in the middle of the track, gasping to catch his breath before stalking off the track and over to the teacher, "How many laps do we have to run?! You're gonna make us pass out, seriously! Some people in this class can't run that many!"

Feliciano peered over his shoulder to watch the confrontation between Alfred and Mr. Howard, "He's really brave."

"Get back on the track, Jones." Mr. Howard pointed to the area Alfred had just left, "You want to be in charge, you go to college and become a teacher!"

"If I go to college to become a teacher, it's not going to be anything like you." Alfred didn't budge from where he was standing, "You're being completely irrational!"

Feliciano made his way around another corner of the track, still watching the argument. It seemed to be escalating, he could hear the words being said from the opposite side now, "…I hope this doesn't get any worse…"

"I'm not going to stand here and listen to a student insulting me, get out of here!" Mr. Howard pointed towards the locker rooms, "If you're not going to be doing anything for this class then get out."

"Well you sure aren't doing anything for the class! All you're doing is standing there telling us to run all the time! What the heck is with you and running?!" Alfred scowled, and still didn't move.

"…Oh he's running now." Feliciano blinked, "Oh no, run Alfred~" He waved his arms around as the blonde scrambled away from their livid teacher, "Run for it!"

"Oh like this is gonna help your reputation of a crazy person!" Alfred yelled back towards Mr. Howard, "Chasing students is really going to do a crapload for your job security, too! Shoot yourself in the foot why don't you?!"

"Oh man…he's gonna get himself in big trouble…" Feliciano wilted, pausing to catch his breath at the starting line, "…I wonder if I should go get help or something…"

"I'm getting out of here!"

Feliciano turned and saw several students make a break for the changing rooms, vanishing from sight beyond the wooden doors, "…But…we can't just leave Alfred…" He looked back towards the teacher and student still running around, "…Well. I suppose I can just do what Antonio did~!" He waited until Alfred darted past him before sticking out his leg.

Alfred turned when he heard the loud yelp, "Huh?" He paused in his running upon seeing Mr. Howard with his face planted in the grass while Feliciano hopped around on one leg while holding the other one.

"He weighs a lot~" Feliciano cried, "Owwwww~"

"Oh man." Alfred grabbed Feliciano's arm, "Run for it!" He tore into the changing room, dragging the crying Italian behind him, "Just run through the pain, man! We're gonna be feeling a lot if that guy gets up before we make the lobby!"

They ran past several of their classmates, "Ve~ Run for it!" Feliciano cried, waving his arm at the other students, "He's really really mad! Alfreeeeed, I think I broke my leg!"

"You couldn't run on it if it was broken!" Alfred argued, "Just keep going! If we make it to the office, we're safe!"

"Now I know how Cruz and Ludwig felt in their last class~" Feliciano cried, "Hey…I wonder why Ardrich didn't run with them…"

"He probably kept his mouth shut, and wasn't running with them more than likely." Alfred laughed, "That guy doesn't know how to have any fun!"

"What part of this is fun?!" Feliciano wailed.

Alfred made a face, "Just imagine a goal line… like we're sprinting for the top prize!"

"Does the top prize not involve pain? Cuz he's gaining on us." Feliciano cast a glance over his shoulder.

"YOU COULD HAVE MENTIONED THAT." Alfred quickly sped up, "Legs don't fail me now!" He hurried down the hall and grabbed the doorhandle to the office, yanking Feliciano inside before slamming the door shut and throwing a chair in front of it.

"I don't want to know."

Feliciano burst into tears upon seeing the principal leaning on the secretary's desk, "Our teacher is so mean! He was chasing us down the hall!"

"That guy has some serious anger management issues!" Alfred yelped, pointing at the door, "Seriously! I thought he was gonna punch our lights out!"

"A teacher?" Mr. Smith raised an eyebrow, "Which one was this?"

Alfred opened his mouth to answer when the door crashed open, sending the chair across the room (barely missing Feliciano), "That one." He scrambled to hide behind the secretary's desk while Feliciano hid behind the principal, "All yours."

"This is the second time now you have chased two students down here." Mr. Smith glared at the gym teacher, "And…how did you get mud all over your…"

"That idiot tripped me!" Mr. Howard snapped, pointing to Feliciano.

"You were chasing Alfred!" Feliciano cried, "I was trying to get you to stop!"

"Oh for…" Mr. Smith let out a hiss through gritted teeth, "This is ridiculous. Jones, Vargas, you both sit in those two seats, and do not move." He glared at both of them, "Mr. Howard, in my office." He motioned to the room and stalked inside, followed by their teacher (after glaring at both Feliciano and Alfred).

"Well. I'd say we're in trouble." Alfred sat down and rested his hands in his lap.

"He's really scary~" Feliciano whimpered.

 **Alfred: Well. We're either really screwed, or getting a new gym teacher.**

 **Feliciano: He's so mean!**

 **Cruz: I'm not even going to ask.**

 **Roderich: …Two more reasons to skip that class.**

 **Matthew: …Did you two get chased too?**

 **Alfred: All over the field and the whole way down to the office. Man he sent that chair flying across the room when he opened the door…**

 **Allistor: Never mind what I said earlier. I'm not going to that class.**

 **Reilly: Common sense prevails.**

 **Arthur: …Well you all sound like you're having fun.**

 **Matthew: Eh, where are you anyway?**

 **Allistor: brother is in home ec?**

 **Arthur: …nope. Keep guessing.**

 **Cruz: ._.**

 **Roderich: ._. ? Where are you at? Did you skip?**

 **Arthur: Not intentionally.**

 **Allistor: What? You're not in the hospital again are you?**

 **Arthur: No.**

 **Reilly: Well that's a relief.**

 **Matthew: Eh…hint?**

 **Arthur: Um…I see…a bridge.**

 **Alfred: What? Are you in the park?**

 **Allistor: The ****?**

 **Arthur: No. Keep guessing.**

 **Cruz: What the ****. How did you not skip intentionally? You're not even in the damn building are you.**

 **Arthur: No I'm not.**

 **Reilly: Mother will be pitching a fit.**

 **Allistor: I'd more worry about father's fit.**

 **Arthur: -_-**

 **Alfred: D: Arthur~ Come back~**

 **Arthur: I told you, it wasn't my idea to come out here.**

 **Matthew: bridge… hm? If you're not in the park, where else is there a bridge?**

 **Cruz: The highway bridge?**

 **Arthur: There you go.**

 **Allistor: What. The. ****.**

 **Reilly: How did you get the whole way across the **** city?**

 **Arthur: Well obviously my teacher is driving.**

 **Alfred: ._. What.**

 **Roderich: …What kind of teacher just goes for a drive?**

 **Arthur: One who wanted to go on a field trip. Someone save me. Where are we even going…**

 **Allistor: XD**

 **Reilly: That's not even funny! Tell her to get back here!**

 **Lovino: At least you're doing something entertaining with your teacher.**

 **Ludwig: Ja. But we have cards. :)**

 **Lovino: -_-**

 **Feliciano: D: I wanna play!**

 **Lovino: You're not in our math class. :P**

 **Ludwig: I like playing Go Fish…**

 **Lovino: I swear Ivan is cheating…**

 **Ludwig: Ja, he is. He keeps taking cards out of his sleeve.**

 **Lovino: I knew it.**

 **Antonio: :D Lovi~ Hey hey, by the way, what ever happened to your notebook? Did you get it back?**

 **Lovino: I wouldn't know. ASK MY PARENTS THAT.**

 **Antonio: D: Oh man, sorry!**

 **Ludwig: ._.**

 **Roderich: So are we just pretty much not paying attention anymore?**

 **Matthew: I don't think we're missing anything.**

 **Cruz: Not a **** thing.**

 **Matthew: XD**

 **Arthur: Oh. Now we're going over the bridge.**

 **Allistor: ._.**

 **Reilly: Wait, where are you two even going? And who else is with you?**

 **Arthur: Uh…it was a class of two including the teacher with Gilbert not here now… so it's just us two.**

 **Allistor: ._.**

 **Alfred: You're on a date with a teacher?**

 **Cruz: XD**

 **Arthur: NO NO NO AND NO.**

 **Allistor: XD**

 **Reilly: XD**

 **Arthur: **** it Alfred. NO.**

 **Matthew: Oh geez…**

 **Roderich: Well I'm pretty sure it's not allowed anyhow…**

 **Arthur: And she doesn't know where we're going.**

 **Roderich: …what.**

 **Arthur: She just wanted a scenic drive. So we're driving. And it's…scenic.**

 **Cruz: Well have fun with that.**

 **Matthew: what about her next class?**

 **Arthur: I'M IN HER NEXT CLASS.**

 **Matthew: Oh well that's okay then.**

 **Arthur: HOW IS THAT OKAY?!**

 **Alfred: XD**

 **Feliciano: I wish we could go on a field trip… I'm kinda scared…and my leg really hurts D:**

 **Lovino: You didn't trip did you?**

 **Feliciano: I tripped the teacher :D**

 **Antonio: …I wouldn't …recommend that….**

 **Cruz: Way to go. Thumbs up.**

 **Matthew: NO. Thumbs down! You're not supposed to hurt a teacher!**

 **Roderich: This day is just going downhill…**

 **Allistor: …Like a barrel full of building bricks.**

 **Alfred: Well there's an interesting comparison.**

 **Reilly: XD**

 **Arthur: Maybe I'll be happy I'm not at school…**

 **Roma: Hm? Where are you at?**

 **Lovino: O_O Grandpa!**

 **Roma: :D Hi Lovi~**

 **Ludwig: Oh you're awake. Hallo**

 **Roma: Hiii~**

 **Arthur: On the bridge to nowhere.**

 **Feliciano: in the office with a hurting leg.**

 **Alfred: in the office waiting on the grim reaper.**

 **Cruz: Those messages escalated quickly.**

 **Roma: …What. What is going on… I'm so confused. DX**

 **BigStiff: …I'm not even going to ask. Ludwig, how are you texting during class?**

 **Ludwig: Oh it's fine. I'm just playing cards with classmates.**

 **Lovino: One of them is cheating!**

 **BigStiff: …what happened to the teacher's lesson?**

 **Ludwig: oh she's still teaching, don't worry**

 **Roma: XD**

 **BigStiff: ._.**

 **Roderich: What's the point of us being in school if none of us are even paying attention?!**

 **Cruz: So can we leave? :)**

 **Matthew: I don't think we can make the door before Mr. Spectacle stops us.**

 **Roma: …I think that's Specks…**

 **Arthur: Oh…now we're stopping.**

 **Allistor: Oh great. Where you at?**

 **Arthur: …in a traffic jam.**

 **Reilly: XD**

 **Arthur: Can someone please get me out of this car…**

 **Roma: Who are you even with?**

 **Arthur: ? Miss Summers**

 **Roma: … you're on a field trip?**

 **Arthur: Apparently.**

 **BigStiff: don't parents have to sign off on those…**

 **Roma: U-usually…**

 **Arthur: Well they certainly didn't sign off on this one.**

 **Alfred: The grim reaper cometh…**

 **Feliciano: WAH~ T_T**

 **Lovino: The principal or the gym teacher?**

 **BigStiff: What?**

 **Roma: …**

 **Alfred: Principal… is he gonna reap or is he gonna let us go…**

 **Roma: …why are you calling him that…**

 **Cruz: Yeah I think the reaper is more fitting for that idiotic gym teacher.**

 **Ludwig: Ja after the first class fiasco.**

 **Feliciano: They're both reapers!**

 **Roma: What happened first class?**

 **Ludwig: Oh nothing. We just got chased by the teacher the whole way to the office.**

 **Roma: …**

 **BigStiff: …**

 **Antonio: :D Makes me think I should have switched gym class out instead of science.**

 **Roderich: CRUZ!**

 **Cruz: Yeah?**

 **Matthew: XD**

 **Roderich: You idiot! Don't do that!**

 **Matthew: XD**

 **Cruz: :) He didn't even see it was me. Chill.**

 **Roma: Oh man…**

 **Lovino: ._. what is going on over there…**

 **Ludwig: I can hear the teacher…**

 **Roderich: way to go.**

 **Cruz: Geez. Lecture time.**

 **Matthew: He's so loud…**

* * *

 **.**

 **.**

"You all are high-schoolers! Throwing something like a paper airplane is juvenile behavior I would expect out of elementary school students!" Mr. Specks yelled.

Cruz rolled his eyes and leaned his head back to look towards the ceiling, "Long-winded lecture time."

"You started it." Roderich hissed.

"Yeah yeah." Cruz shrugged.

"…" Matthew stared at the teacher in silence.

"This behavior is exactly what started the moronic activities of last year!" Mr. Specks continued.

Roderich's mouth dropped, "Ex- _cuse_ me!"

"Moronic?" Cruz stared at him shock and disbelief.

"…" Matthew looked back and forth between the two, "You two are actually agreeing on something."

"The water balloons flying, the attack on the school board… those students should have been expelled. What they did was nothing but reckless behavior…" Mr. Specks started.

"Oh, no he did not." Roderich fumed before standing up, slamming one of his textbooks, "EXCUSE YOU."

"Aren't you going to say something?" Matthew looked at Cruz.

"Nope. He's got this one covered." Cruz smirked.

Roderich stalked to the front of the room and glared at Mr. Specks, "For your _information_ , I'M the one who started that water balloon war in the classroom last year! There was a reason for the incidents towards the end of last year, and I am not going to sit through your stupid lecture listening to you claim all this crap that you know nothing about!"

"This is going on video." Matthew held up his cell phone and recorded the argument, "This is pure gold."

"This is going to make me laugh." Cruz grinned, "This is the most fun I've had in a long time."

 **Ludwig: Now the voice sounds like Roderich…**

 **Lovino: Yeah it does.**

 **Cruz: That's because it is. This is hilarious. :)**

 **Ludwig: ._.**

 **Lovino: Oh great. The whole school is going to be up in arms.**

"Obviously you are not teaching a damn thing that we don't already know, so you go sit down!" Roderich pointed towards an empty desk in the front row.

"Oh no. Roderich's taking the classroom." Matthew held a hand over his mouth while he was laughing.

"Oh this should be good." Cruz leaned forward slightly, "Now…I'll pay attention."

Roderich waited until the (completely dumbstruck) teacher sat down in the empty desk in confusion. "Now, since we _obviously_ have some discrepancies over the reasons for last year's incidents, I would like to take this time to explain it." Roderich forced a smile towards the classroom. He picked up a ruler and idly tapped it against the desk while he was talking.

"This is going on videotape or dvd for Gilbert to watch when he wakes up." Matthew giggled.

"I'm sure it'll cheer him up in no time flat." Cruz smirked.

"Last year, as I'm sure you all recall, we had that _wonderful_ speech by the guest speaker on the rates of teenage suicide. Not twenty-four hours later, we were informed that three classmates had committed suicide and one had died an early death due to an illness that was out of control. The rigging of the classroom with water balloons occurred only a short time later." Roderich glared at the teacher, "Why? Because it was something Gilbert would have done. Sitting through boring lecture after boring lecture was something he hated with a passion, it's why he always acted out during class. So with Gilbert no longer present, someone had to take that role." Roderich paced the front of the room, still waving the ruler around.

"I didn't hear the long story-telling version of it. This is nice." Cruz laughed.

"Eh…" Matthew looked at him uncertainly, "It feels kinda weird to me. Especially since I was one of the three!"

"So, yes, I did rig the classroom to send water balloons fly around on a timer. It was something that will never be taken off my record, and I am perfectly fine with that." Roderich smiled cheerfully at the teacher, "It was quite worth it. For one short amount of time, the entire class was laughing. The depressed air that was in that classroom for some time actually lifted during the ten or fifteen minutes that my idea lasted. I'm not going to apologize for what I did. Not once." He spun the ruler around in his hand and walked around the desk once more.

"The second prank, was _not_ my idea. It was actually the idea of Alfred to duct tape his entire classroom. I thought it was quite creative, actually, granted it did disrupt the taking of a test. But his class cheered up, even if his teacher got a few more gray hairs." Roderich sat himself on the corner of the desk and stared out at the faces of his classmates, "Antonio inflated beach balls and knocked them around during a slideshow presentation. Neither one of them, nor myself even, had to stand up and take credit for what we did, there's no way the teachers would have found out, because our classmates wouldn't have said anything. But we did anyway, which is probably why the principal left us to remain in school."

"And he said that he gets nervous when speaking in public." Cruz scoffed.

"He has his anger fueling him." Matthew whispered.

"And of course, the prank you mentioned." Roderich looked towards the teacher, "Where we retaliated against the school board, because they called our school one of the worst-behaved ones in the area. Despite us having top grades, it didn't matter, because we weren't well-behaved. So yes, we did act out against the school board. Shot arrows at them from windows on the second floor, rigged an onslaught of beach balls when they tried to give chase, threw tomatoes when they tried to chase us again, rigged the school board meeting room with water traps so they couldn't hold their meeting, and though unintentional, deflated the tires of one of the cars they came in."

Roderich stood up again and continued pacing around the room, "And yet…" He stopped and looked towards the teacher once more, "We made it back to class. No one caught us. But two, stood up and took the fall for it. Alfred and Antonio took the blame for the entire incident, and they're still in school, because the principal recognized what we were doing. We may have been acting out, but it was for a perfectly good reason, not just for the fun of it as you were implying." Roderich waved the ruler once before setting it down once more, "And it worked. The four students who had departed came back. So you cannot just stand up here and tell me that what we did was sheer stupidity. And don't you dare call our acts juvenile." Roderich scowled before stalking to the back of the classroom and returning to his seat.

"Very nice." Matthew clicked off the recorder.

"Yeah, really." Cruz nodded.

Roderich folded his hands on top of his desk and smiled to himself while silence settled over the classroom, "I'm expecting a retort of some kind…"

"Eh…" Matthew blinked, "Actually…"

Cruz tilted his head, staring at the front of the room, "Huh?" He blinked several times when he realized Matthew was suddenly standing next to the teacher's desk. Looking towards the now empty desk, Cruz turned his head back and forth between Matthew and his empty chair, "That was fast!"

"Hm?" Roderich blinked several times.

"J-Just to add on to what he was saying…" Matthew's face reddened a bit, he had seen the teacher about to get up but had stopped when Matthew had scurried to the front, "I wasn't here during that last year, so I didn't witness what some of you may have, but I did feel the effects of it. And…it's okay that teachers give lectures, don't think that's what the point of this was, but it does get hard to listen to on a daily basis. When we have to hear a lecture-style of teaching in every class, six or seven times a day, five times a week, it gets really repetitive and kind of boring…there are times now and then when someone needs to have some kind of fun to balance out their day, which is probably the main reason for some people, like Gilbert, acting out. Some people need more fun than others…"

"He is talking out more." Cruz looked towards Roderich.

"Yes he is. I'm impressed." Roderich raised both eyebrows.

"When life gets unbalanced and it feels like mostly nothing is going your way, coming to school can feel like a heavy weight is bearing down on you. You start to dread coming here because in the hallway you're just someone in somebody else's way, and you get pushed around a lot… it's nothing personal against you; they're just trying to get to their classes on time. It can feel like you're invisible, like no one can hear you or see you, like no one cares at all… and when that kind of thing happens on a daily basis…you forget. You forget that there are people who care, and just because you don't see them after class all the time, it doesn't mean they forgot about you. They're waiting in that class that you do have together, it's just hard to hold on until then sometimes. And it's not going to help to think that life isn't worth it… it's just not. If you keep thinking life isn't worth it, you're going to start believing it like we did. We went away last year because that's where our mindframes were. But we came back because there were people here who showed that they _did_ care, and they did save us in a way, so…thank you." Matthew smiled towards Roderich and Cruz before retreating to the back of the room again.

"Well." Cruz blinked.

"That was not the response I was expecting." Roderich watched as Matthew sat down, "You're quite welcome."

Matthew let out a long sigh of relief, "I'm never doing that again."

Cruz grinned, "Anyone want to take bets on how long it takes the teacher to stand up?"

"We shall approach this in a calm and mature manner." Roderich looked at him for a moment before turning his gaze towards the front of the room.

Matthew looked at Cruz before looking back at Roderich.

"…Five minutes. Ten dollars." Roderich drummed his fingers on the desktop.

Cruz let out a short laugh, "Calm and mature manner!"

"Eh, I'm gonna say two minutes, ten dollars." Matthew smiled.

Cruz grinned and set his watch timer, "I'm going to say three and a half and settle in the middle."

* * *

.

.

"Hmm…in hindsight, this probably wasn't a good idea." Miss Summers tapped her fingers on the steering wheel.

Arthur hit his head against the passenger-side window.

"Clearly we should have gone the backroads." Miss Summers peered out her window and glanced up and down the road.

"Well it's too late to do anything about it now." Arthur sighed.

"No it's not." Miss Summers smiled cheerfully, "Nothing coming in the oncoming traffic lanes~"

"Please tell me you're not about to do a u-turn on the middle of-aaaaaaaaaaaa!" Arthur held onto the doorhandle as his teacher accelerated into a sharp turn, skidding across three lanes before flying down the highway in the opposite direction, "That was illegal!"

"I didn't see any signs that said I couldn't do that!" Miss Summers laughed.

Arthur continued holding onto the door handle and managed to type out a message with one hand while the car bounced down the road.

 **Arthur: Where did she even get her license?! Can someone please tell her that making a u-turn on a bridge is illegal!**

 **Roma: It's only illegal if there's a sign that says you can't :D**

 **BigStiff: … Where did you get YOUR license?**

 **Ludwig: I'm not sure I want to drive anymore…**

 **Lovino: I'm seriously about to call this stupid cheater…**

 **Ludwig: I wouldn't do that if I were you…**

Arthur glanced up at the road, watching the blurred scenery fly by, "Where are we going…"

"Backroads!" Miss Summers yanked the steering wheel to the right and went skidding around a corner.

"Could you at least keep all four wheels of the car on the ground?!" Arthur yelled.

"All four wheels were on the ground!"

* * *

.

.

Regis shook his head at the comments on his phone with a sigh, "Was school like that when we were still there…"

"Not that I can recall." Roma commented, looking more towards the ceiling rather than his bedside visitor.

"How did you get here anyway?" Regis glanced at the papers on the opposite side of the bed from where he was sitting.

Roma's face reddened a bit, "Car accident."

"Gott." Regis buried his face in his hands.

"It wasn't even my fault!" Roma protested, "Some other person ran the redlight! It wasn't because of my driving!"

"Ja, ja. I believe you…" Regis patted Roma on the shoulder, though the facial expression wasn't comforting in the least.

"You do not." Roma crossed his arms and sulked, "Sheesh."

"Well there weren't any bridges involved in your accident." Regis glanced at his phone, "…I wonder what happened with the gym teacher…"

Roma shook his head with a quiet sigh, "Whatever is going on, principal will take care of it." He closed his eyes and relaxed a bit, listening to the faded voices in the hallway.

Regis tilted his head slightly, letting silence fall between them. He glanced down at his phone again and made a face at the chatname that kept popping up every time he would send a message to someone else, "…How do you change the username on here?"

"You don't like your username?" Roma smiled, "I thought it was rather funny."

Regis made a face and scowled, "Not particularly fond of being known as 'big stiff'."

"I think most of Gilbert's friends would have heard that by now anyway." Roma opened one eye to glance at him.

Regis let out a long sigh of defeat and leaned his head against the wall.

"…Did you read the wall hanging he had made for his home education class?" Roma asked quietly.

"Ja. Too many stiffs in the family." Regis didn't look up from his phone.

"Did you read the second line?" Roma sighed and closed his eye again.

"There was a second line?" Regis raised an eyebrow and looked at Roma in confusion.

"Apparently not." Roma answered his own question and just shook his head.

Regis blinked several times, "?"

 **BigStiff: there was a second line on Gilbert's wall hanging?**

 **Roderich: Yes.**

 **Ludwig: There was?**

 **Arthur: ...yes…**

 **Matthew: Eh…did no one else notice?**

 **Cruz: I barely looked at any of them.**

 **Roderich: 'but I love them anyway'**

 **Ludwig: ._.**

 **BigStiff: ._.**

 **Matthew: I know the words were smaller than the first line, but I still saw it…**

 **Ardrich: I turn on my phone for the first time and the notifications are completely full! What the ******

 **Cruz: Oh terrific. Mini-idiot.**

 **BigStiff: …**

 **Roderich: I think that's Mini-stiff.**

 **Cruz: Whichever.**

 **Ludwig: …**

 **Allistor: You really didn't miss all that much except for the gym teacher fiascos.**

 **Ardrich: I was in the first class when he chased Ludwig and whats-his-name down the hall.**

 **Matthew: Oh look. Someone who actually doesn't know your name.**

 **Cruz: I'm amazed.**

 **Roderich: So am I.**

 **Ludwig: Ja. Thanks for the support. Just keep running and ignore us.**

 **Ardrich: I left after the teacher did. Forget running.**

 **Cruz: XD**

 **Roderich: That was probably a good idea.**

 **Allistor: Brother~ Where are you?**

 **Arthur: No idea.**

 **Lovino: Why did it suddenly get really loud?**

 **Cruz: Whoa.**

 **Roderich: … who was closest on the bet?**

 **Cruz: Matthew.**

 **Matthew: I won :D**

 **Roderich: I think we lost back here actually. Don't tell me now we're sitting through another lecture.**

 **Cruz: …No. We're not.**

 **Matthew: Please don't do something stupid!**

 **Arthur: What the heck is going on at the school?**

 **Allistor: Haven't the faintest idea. Quiet on this end.**

 **Reilly: Yeah. Real quiet.**

 **Ludwig: Anything but quiet over here.**

 **Lovino: Oh man. It's rather creepy when you can hear the teacher yelling through the wall.**

 **Antonio: D: Be safe you guys!**

 **Roderich: Oh sure.**

* * *

 **.**

 **.**

Matthew trembled in his seat a bit and shrank down lower as the volume of yelling escalated, "M-maybe his last nerve is shot or something…"

"Ain't the only thing that's gonna be shot soon." Cruz snapped.

Roderich rolled his eyes and began searching through his bag on the floor, "Do I have anything in here…"

"Are we seriously getting a lecture on how teachers are supposed to act and how students should be acting…" The classmate in front of Matthew sunk in his own seat, "This is stupid."

Matthew leaned forward and watched as Roderich pulled out an airhorn, "Oh."

Roderich looked across at Matthew and Cruz, "I think this was pretty much called for."

"Go for it." Cruz put both hands over his ears.

Matthew quickly covered his as well as Roderich blew the air horn, silencing the teacher instantly.

Mr. Specks leaned on his desk with one hand, both eyes closed, drumming his fingers on the desktop.

"…I think he's counting to ten." Matthew whispered.

"He's going to need to count a lot higher than that." Cruz grumbled.

Roderich put the airhorn on his lap and waited for the blowup that he was expecting to follow, "In retrospect, we should have known that some teachers have short fuses."

"Then why do you keep lighting it?" Matthew cried.

"Because I can." Roderich smiled cheerfully.

Cruz grinned and looked towards the front of the classroom again.

"I did not attend a college to be made a fool of by a couple of delinquent students!" Mr. Specks snapped.

"Delinquent?" Roderich blinked, "Who of us is…"

"I think that could be applied to me." Cruz rolled his eyes.

"But he said a couple…" Matthew tilted his head.

"The classroom is a place for learning, not games! We are here to teach and should not have to put up with the damned attitudes of a couple of stuck-up students who can't keep their mouths shut while other people are trying to learn!"

"Stuck up…" Roderich whispered.

Cruz blinked a couple times, "Well."

"And I will not stand up here and try to talk over you idio-"

"Then shut up." Matthew stood up.

Cruz turned his head and looked up at the blonde in shock.

"Whoa." Roderich looked up at Matthew, "Uh…" He reached up and tugged on Matthew's sleeve, "Now who's lighting the fuse…"

"Did everything that was said just go in one ear and out the other? We were not talking down on your way of teaching! We were saying that it gets really boring to listen to! We are not delinquents, we are not stuck-up!" Matthew snapped, ignoring the tugs on his arm.

"School is a place of learning, not a funhouse!" Mr. Specks retorted.

"Why can't it be both? Why can't teachers at least make an attempt to make learning fun for the students? If it's the same thing day after day, who's going to even try to listen? It's the same thing day after day! You could at least do something interesting so school isn't such a chore!" Matthew glared at the teacher, fast becoming frustrated with the response he was getting.

* * *

.

.

Ludwig looked up upon hearing a loud crash through the wall, "What the heck?"

"Uh, excuse me." Mrs. Rose hurried out of the room.

Lovino looked at the wall, "I wonder what happened…"

"Your friends are over there?" Ivan blinked, "Maybe you should follow."

"Ugh…I have a feeling I'm going to regret this." Lovino got up and hurried out the door, followed by Ludwig. Lovino peered around Mrs. Rose who was standing in shock in the doorway to the next classroom, "What happened?"

Ludwig peered around Mrs. Rose's right shoulder and saw Matthew standing at the back of the classroom, eyes widened in shock. Cruz was standing next to him, glaring daggers at the teacher who stood in front of the room.

Roderich stood up, "Now _that_ was just uncalled for." He walked behind where Cruz was standing and picked up a textbook, "Throwing something at a student?"

Mrs. Rose looked back and forth between the three students in the back and Mr. Specks, "Please tell me you didn't…"

"What's the point of school again?" Lovino whispered, looking at Ludwig.

"Uh…" Ludwig hesitated.

Mrs. Rose looked around the room, lost on what to do, "Okay…well you know what. Class is almost over anyway. Everyone out. Out, out." She motioned towards the door.

Roderich huffed and left the room, following behind Cruz and Matthew, "Talk about annoying! What a rude teacher!"

"He threw a textbook at me…" Matthew whispered, "He actually threw something at me…"

Cruz scowled, "What kind of requirements is needed to teach at this school? We need some new teachers, geez! Gym teachers who chase you down the damned hallway, and a history teacher who throws the textbook!"

"Are you three okay?" Ludwig looked at them in concern.

"That was loud." Ivan appeared suddenly next to Lovino.

"Geez!" Lovino jumped, "Where the heck did you come from?"

"From class!" Ivan laughed.

Yao sighed in frustration, "Lost again at cards."

Ludwig and Lovino exchanged glances before they both shook their heads.

"We're fine." Roderich sighed.

Matthew nodded in silence.

Cruz continued scowling, "Still one more class before lunch…"

"Yeah but you get Mrs. Rose!" Lovino motioned to the classroom they had just left, "We get stuck with your teacher!"

Mrs. Rose made a face, "I'm standing right here. Everyone is more than welcome to just stay in my classroom."

"…" Lovino looked at Ludwig, "What do you want to do?"

"I am not going in there." Ludwig headed back to the math classroom, "I'll just sit on the floor in the back."

"…I have gym." Roderich hesitated.

"Eh…I have science." Matthew wandered down the hallway, "See you at lunch!"

"Yeah, sure. Good luck with gym." Cruz followed Lovino and Ludwig into the math classroom.

"Oh, like I'm really going!" Roderich snapped and stalked off down the hallway. _'I might as well find Antonio since he also has gym…'_

* * *

.

.

Alfred glanced hesitantly at the paper in front of him, "…Okay…I think I filled this out right…"

"I can't believe we had to write down what happened…" Feliciano cried.

"I guess it has to go on record…" Alfred slid the paper across the principal's desk. "I wonder where he went."

"Something about another teacher acting out of line." Feliciano shrugged and put his paper on top of Alfred's, "I have world history now, I should go…"

"I have…study hall. With a teacher who ran away with Arthur." Alfred sighed and trudged out of the office, "What the heck am I supposed to do?"

"You can always come to my class!" Feliciano laughed, "Or maybe you should just spend time in the library…"

"Yeah I dunno." Alfred scratched the back of his head, "I mean, I guess I can just go to the study hall room anyway, but if there's no teacher there, there's really no point…"

"Hmm…" Feliciano tilted his head, "Oh there's…ve?" Feliciano stared at the closed door that had a note taped to it. "Mr. Specks has taken the rest of the day off, any student in this class is free to come to Mrs. Rose's classroom next door."

"Well." Alfred blinked, "I wonder what happened."

"Oh well! I guess I'll just go to the math classroom then!" Feliciano skipped up the hall and into the open classroom door.

"Empty study hall classroom here I come…" Alfred sighed and walked down the hallway.

* * *

.

.

Matthew stared at the teacher. The empty desk next to him felt worse than normal due to the conflict in the last classroom. _'And now I'm stuck with his wife!'_ Matthew sunk down in his chair. Hopefully they hadn't had any contact with one another, otherwise this was going to be the longest class of the day.

Mrs. Specks, instead of getting up, remained sitting in her chair when the bell rang. She surveyed the classroom without saying a word.

 _'I think they talked.'_ Matthew pulled at his sweater sleeve, worried.

"So…" Mrs. Specks leaned back in her chair, "Since someone was nice enough to hide my curriculum notes…would someone else like to lead the class today?"

"Eh." Matthew blinked. _'Who did that?'_ He glanced around the classroom, but everyone looked just as confused as he was.

"Come on, someone come up here." Mrs. Specks motioned to the front of the room.

Matthew glanced around as no one moved. _'Might as well get this over with.'_ He stood up hesitantly and made his way slowly to the front of the room, standing awkwardly at the board.

"Oh there we have someone." Mrs. Specks looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"Um…" Matthew glanced at the classroom, getting quite a few deer-in-the-headlight expressions in return.

"So what's the lesson plan for today?" Mrs. Specks watched Matthew with a look of keen interest.

"W-well if it's alright with you…" Matthew looked towards her, still hesitating.

"You're leading the class. I'm a student right now." Mrs. Specks waved her hand.

 _'This is so confusing!'_ Matthew panicked inwardly, "Um, does everyone have a paper to write on?" He looked around the room, only mildly surprised when most students pulled out notebooks. Matthew spotted Mrs. Specks also pulling out a sheet of paper. _'I'm seriously teaching this…'_

"Okay then…" Matthew picked up a piece of chalk and began writing on the board.

"Today I died and I never got the chance to tell you…" Mrs. Specks whispered.

"Most of you know that I was one of the students in the assembly last year. While I was at the counseling facility, it became clear to me that many of the friends I had year didn't know how I felt about them after I was gone. Some of you may not have even thought about it at all, I'm the one of the few who reflected on that. So if you were to not return home today, what would you want your parents or your friends to know?" Matthew tilted his head, "That's what the paper is for."

"Well this is certainly a change." Mrs. Specks raised both eyebrows, "Hm…" She tapped her pencil on the desk a few times before she began writing.

 _'S-she's actually writing…'_ Matthew watched as his classmates exchanged glances with one another before they started on the papers laying on their desks. _'Should I write something?'_ Matthew looked at the board and started writing his own.

* * *

.

.

"Are you really so surprised by that?" Roma asked.

"A bit." Regis commented quietly, "He pushes himself away so much it seems that he doesn't want to have anything to do with us."

"He pushes himself away because that's what he's used to. He didn't want his mother seeing him suffer so he would spend more time away from home. When it resurfaced, he returned to that mindset and forced himself away from everyone. Gilbert tried to push himself away from his friends, but some of them proved more stubborn than they were last year." Roma smiled faintly.

Regis leaned on the bed, staring at the door for a few minutes, "…I know your son was here while you were sleeping…but your wife hasn't come by?"

"No. And she won't." Roma turned his head to look out the window.

Regis looked at him in confusion, "Did you two have a fight?"

"Technically, no." Roma kept his gaze on the window.

"Then what…" Regis started.

"I'd rather not talk about it." Roma said flatly.

"I swear, if I had a dollar for every time you've given me that response." Regis sighed.

"Shush." Roma smacked him on the shoulder, "Don't be mean!"

"We're here!"

Roma gaped at Miss Summers and Arthur, "I can see that."

"Oh, is that where you two went?" Regis raised both eyebrows.

"No." Arthur held up a bag of carryout, "Apparently her favorite restaurant is on the other side of the river."

"Ahahahaha!" Roma burst out laughing, "You and your cravings!"

"They were having a sale. You two want some?" Miss Summers plopped down in an empty chair and began pulling the trays out, "I got extra!"

"I can't believe you skipped school to grab carryout." Regis grumbled.

"I can. What'd you get?" Roma managed to get himself into a sitting position.

"Should you even be eating this?" Regis gaped at him.

"Life is much too short to follow all the rules all the time." Roma responded.

"That's who she reminds me of." Arthur whispered.

* * *

.

.

 **Fourth Bell**

"So now what?" Matthew blinked over his shoulder, heading into the cafeteria, "If the food is inedible, no food fights? We just throw it away?"

"Well I don't plan on even trying." Cruz grumbled.

"Ahahaha, I'll attempt." Antonio smiled cheerfully, "I think I'll skip out on the salad though."

"We can always hand it right back to the monitors if the food looks inedible right?" Alfred tilted his head.

"Hell with handing it back. Throw it back." Cruz wandered over to the usual table in the corner of the room, still not up to trying anything in the food lines.

Matthew looked at the tray he was given, "…" At first glance, the food looked normal enough. Seemed to resemble some kind of broccoli on the side. Matthew leaned back to look at the menu of the line he was standing in. "On second thoughts, I think I'll pass." Matthew put the tray back on the counter, "What resembles broccoli shouldn't be according to the menu." He turned and walked away, leaving the student after him looking at the tray with an expression of doubt.

Alfred picked up the top part of the bun and glanced at the hamburger underneath, much to the annoyance of the cook behind the counter, "Dude. You're sure this was a hamburger and not a piece of charcoal?"

"Just leave it Alfred." Matthew sighed, walking by, "I'm heading to the table."

"Coming." Alfred dropped the bun back down and headed after Matthew, "No food fights~"

When Antonio made it to the table, he found Alfred, Matthew, and Cruz all sitting with no food trays, "Did you guys all decide not to?"

"The broccoli shouldn't have been on the tray. I'll give it the benefit of the doubt, but I'm not trying it." Matthew sighed.

"I'm still not sure that wasn't a piece of charcoal." Alfred glanced at his phone, "At least Arthur got take-out food. That's guaranteed edible."

"Don't be so sure about that." Cruz scoffed.

Antonio was about to take a bite when Lovino dropped into the seat next to him, "Lovi~ Why are you in our lunch?" He blinked several times in surprise.

"Because I have gym at this time, and no thank you." Lovino leaned on the table, "I'll pass, this was the only other place I could think of to come."

"Yeah. The room of inedible food." Matthew gave a sideways glance towards Antonio's tray, as if he was expecting to see something move.

"I'm the only one eating~" Antonio laughed.

"I'm not dragging your sick ass home." Cruz glanced out the window.

Antonio paused before taking a bite again, "You're so mean! And Lovi, what happened to you skipping earlier?"

"I showed up." Lovino sighed, "Didn't want to, but I'm not looking to get grounded here."

* * *

.

.

"You're going to get in a lot of trouble…" Roma looked towards the teacher still in the room.

"You're going to get _me_ in trouble." Arthur grumbled.

"Ah, the principal has his hands full already. He won't even notice~" Miss Summers laughed.

"I'm pretty sure he will." Regis looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

Arthur leaned back in the chair. At least he didn't have to deal with the problems that everyone else seemed to be encountering during class. Today definitely seemed to be the day where most of the teachers were breaking down.

"Besides, as long as Arthur's with a teacher, they can't give him too hard of a time~" Miss Summers patted Arthur on the shoulder with a grin.

"That's a huge comfort." Arthur said sarcastically, "I'm still going to be grounded for the rest of my life."

Regis glanced towards the clock on the wall before looking towards the half-closed door. He was beginning to wonder where Roma's son had vanished off to. It was certainly a long time to be gone just for a food run.

"He had to run out on an errand." Roma commented, as if reading Regis's mind.

Regis just nodded in silence, but didn't look like he believed Roma's words at all.

"The school year is half over already…" Miss Summers gazed out the window with a far-off expression on her face, "It's kinda hard to believe…"

"Speak for yourself." Roma made a face, "You try sitting in the guidance office for students coming down all the time."

"I might as well. I might see more students that way!" Miss Summers sighed.

"That class is going to be really interesting with one student." Arthur tilted his head slightly.

"Yeah, I don't know what we're gonna do. I suppose we can still do the normal class curriculum, it's just more one-on-one teaching style." Miss Summers mimicked Arthur by tilting her own head.

"That's a small class." Regis looked at her doubtfully.

"She always has small classes." Roma laughed.

"Maybe it's my teaching style." Miss Summers hung her head.

"It's certainly different from most other teachers." Arthur commented.

"By the way, what are my other two sons doing in your class if you're here?" Regis glanced at her.

"I haven't the faintest idea." Miss Summers stared back at him.

"…You should probably head back." Roma sighed, "You didn't even get a substitute…"

"Like I said, the principal had his hands full already." Miss Summers leaned back in her chair.

Regis glanced at the phone, but there was a lack of messages from Ludwig and Ardrich, "I wonder what they're doing?"

* * *

.

.

"You know…you could at least follow the instructions." Ludwig glanced at Ardrich, motioning to the cooking book.

"They're impossible to read! Why do they print them so damn small!" Ardrich snapped.

"Just get glasses!" Ludwig retorted.

"People look old with glasses!" Ardrich yelled.

"You're saying Roderich looks old? Und Alfred? Und Matthew?" Ludwig stared at him, "You're going to get hit if you say that to their faces."

Ardrich scowled and picked up the cookbook, staring at it with a fierce intensity, "I will read this without glasses."

"Ja. Sure you will." Ludwig sighed and patted his brother on the back, "I can just read it off rather than risk burning the whole school down…"

"It's not gonna burn!" Ardrich kicked him and shoved the tray in the oven, "Now it says here to heat to…" Ardrich squinted, "Uhm… 850?"

"NEIN! That says 350!" Ludwig covered the dial, "You really are going to burn the school! The dial doesn't even go that far!"

"Then there was nothing to get all worried about!" Ardrich hit him with the cookbook, "Just turn the damn thing!"

"We shouldn't even be cooking without a teacher…" Ludwig sighed, but turned the knob anyway.

"She's not here. Deal with it. At least we can't get in trouble for skipping." Ardrich stared at the pile of dishes in the sink, "…"

"We should clean those while we're waiting, how long do we wait?" Ludwig moved towards the sink, rolling up his sleeves.

"Uh…"Ardrich squinted at the book, "Thirty minutes."

"That should be enough time then!" Ludwig put the dishes on the counter and started filling the sink with hot water, "Ja, this is nice. This feels like we're living on our own!"

"No offense, I'd rather have that feeling with someone besides mein bruder." Ardrich gave him a look of doubt.

Ludwig glared at Ardrich, "You know what I meant. Now help." He flung the dishtowel at Ardrich, "You dry."

"Fine." Ardrich huffed and waited for a dish to be set in the dishrack.

* * *

.

.

Regis tapped his foot idly on the floor. Roma appeared to have fallen asleep now, leaving a silence to fall over the other three in the room.

Arthur looked hesitantly back and forth between the two adults who were awake, "…" _'What is this feeling of tension?!'_

 **Arthur: Why…it feels like the air is really tense in here…**

 **Ardrich: ? Where are you at again?**

 **Arthur: The hospital**

 **Allistor: What**

 **Reilly: Again?**

 **Arthur: NO! I'm visiting in the hospital! I'm not a patient!**

 **Alfred: Oh that's a relief. I thought something happened again.**

 **Lovino: Who are you visiting?**

 **Arthur: Your grandpa, apparently. Here we sit.**

 **Lovino: :D How is he?**

 **Arthur: …sleeping.**

 **Lovino: … with visitors? How rude.**

 **Antonio: Uh…guys…this salad…**

 **Cruz: Just say it out loud before you make more people than necessary sick.**

 **Alfred: XD I don't think he can**

 **Antonio: :D I'm gonna go be sick now. Bye!**

 **Lovino: Wow he runs fast.**

 **Cruz: Idiot.**

 **Alfred: Should one of us follow?**

 **Roderich: Don't bother. He just ran into me. Literally.**

 **Matthew: Oh, hello! You weren't in class?**

 **Roderich: No. Strange. I got to the room and there was a note that said the class was cancelled.**

 **Matthew: Eh?**

 **Cruz: What class?**

 **Roderich: Science. Taking Antonio to the nurse now.**

 **Matthew: …I just had that class…the teacher was there…**

 **Arthur: Did something happen?**

 **BigStiff: Ardrich? What are you and Ludwig doing?**

 **Ardrich: Dishes.**

 **BigStiff: ._. What?**

 **Matthew: no…the class went fine. Nothing happened.**

 **Cruz: Huh. That's odd. Maybe she left with her husband.**

 **Matthew: maybe…**

 **Ardrich: We're doing dishes. How difficult is that to understand?**

 **BigStiff: Why are you doing dishes? Where are you?**

 **Ardrich: Home Education.**

 **BigStiff: Without the teacher?**

 **Ardrich: Uh…ja?**

 **Ludwig: We're watching the food in the oven. :)**

 **BigStiff: ._.**

 **Alfred: Oh great! Bring some down here! I'm starving!**

 **Matthew: XD**

 **Cruz: Maybe we should just head over there.**

 **Lovino: there's an idea.**

 **Arthur: Well. I'm glad to hear your food dilemmas were solved.**

 **Ardrich: Hey uh…question**

 **BigStiff: ?**

 **Ardrich: Is it supposed to be black?**

 **Cruz: On second thoughts, let's just stay here.**

 **Matthew: Um…**

 **Ludwig: Why is it black? You said thirty minutes right?**

 **Ardrich: Ja. That's what the book said.**

 **BigStiff: ._.**

 **Ludwig: GOTT! Turn it off!**

 **Alfred: …I don't need food anymore. I'm good.**

 **Ardrich: D: Which way does the dial go?! Left? I can't see in the smoke!**

 **Roderich: YOU IDIOTS! THERE'S SMOKE IN THE HALL!**

 **Ludwig: Gott, it's hard to see in here!**

 **BigStiff: THEN LEAVE!**

* * *

 **.**

 **.**

"Oh mein gott!" Ludwig flailed his arms around in front of him while coughing.

"I am never cooking again!" Ardrich yelled, also doing the same thing, "Where's the damn dial?! Did I turn it off?!"

As if in response, the smoke alarms above their heads started going off in shrill tones.

"Nein." Ludwig sighed, "There it goes." He grabbed two potholders off the counter and yanked open the stove, pulling the burning food out of the oven and flinging it into the sink.

"Gah!" Ardrich coughed several times, still waving his hands around, "Can't even breathe in here!"

"Then move!" Roderich appeared through the smoke and dragged them both out of the room, hurrying down the hall.

"My eyes are watering!" Ardrich cried, "I can't even see!"

"Well that's not much different from before then! Why did I even trust you to read off how long it was supposed to stay in!" Ludwig snapped, coughing.

"Wow this is not helping my stomach." Antonio scurried behind them, "Siiiiiick…"

"Don't stop to throw up!" Roderich snapped.

 **Matthew: All the smoke alarms are going off…**

 **Cruz: Evacuating.**

 **Alfred: D: Run!**

 **Antonio: Roderich dragged Ludwig and Ardrich out of the Home Ec. Room!**

 **BigStiff: Oh good. Danke Roderich.**

 **Arthur: That cooking turned out worse than mine usually does…**

 **Allistor: Yeah. Yours doesn't set the alarms off in the kitchen.**

 **Reilly: :P Usually.**

 **Alfred: XD**

 **Lovino: Can you pick some other time to start a fight! Geez!**

 **Cruz: I think we should have picked a different route.**

 **Alfred: Yeah, let's just turn the other way now. It's getting really hard to see.**

 **Arthur: …are we going to be holding a funeral again?**

 **Alfred: NO.**

 **Matthew: I hope not!**

 **Lovino: Don't even joke.**

 **Roma: …Now what did I miss?**

 **BigStiff: -_- You're awake now.**

 **Arthur: A fire apparently.**

 **Antonio: No flames, just a lot of smoke.**

Roderich sat down on the hill outside away from the school, gasping for breath after running.

"Gott…" Ludwig laid down on his back, letting out short coughs now and then, "Stupid smoke…"

"Never cooking again." Ardrich wheezed.

Antonio blinked at the school, "Man…I wonder if there really is a fire…"

"I hope not." Ludwig sighed.

Roderich looked down at the two blondes, "Did you manage to turn the stove off?"

"I don't know…I don't think we…" Ludwig looked back at the school in time to see the windows in the Home Ec room shatter, "…"

"No." Roderich sighed, " _Now_ there's a fire."

"I think that's more of an explosion. Maybe there was something wrong with the stove." Antonio suggested, "Like a clog in the gasline or something."

"That could be." Roderich blinked.

Ardrich hesitated, "D-Did everyone get out?"

"Uh…" Roderich looked doubtfully towards the school, "I hope so…"

Ludwig paled, "Oh gott, please don't let anyone be near there…"

* * *

.

.

Feliciano coughed several times and followed his classmates through the hallway, "It's really hard to breathe!"

"Oh come on!" Elizaveta yanked on his arm, "We can't stop!"

"I don't wanna die in here!" Feliciano cried.

"We will not die!" Elizaveta protested, "Don't even think that!"

A loud crash behind them brought both their second winds back and they ran past their classmates.

"Run!" Feliciano cried.

"Screw calm and orderly!" Elizaveta tore out the fire exit, dragging Feliciano right behind her.

"Oh man! What even happened!" Feliciano looked over his shoulder, watching as the rest of their class made it out, "Oh, there's Ludwig!"

* * *

.

.

Roderich's eyes narrowed as Feliciano came over, though he was more glaring at the female right behind the Italian.

"I thought we were done for!" Feliciano collapsed beside Ludwig.

"Fire department showed up…" Ludwig whispered.

"Ugh." Ardrich coughed, still laying down while his brother had sat up.

Elizaveta plopped down beside Ardrich, "That was hectic!"

Roderich just shook his head and turned his gaze away to the other students moving to a safe distance from the school. _'Everyone made it out right?'_

 **Roderich: Is everyone out?**

 **Alfred: The lunch crew is out! :D**

 **Cruz: GEEZ.**

 **Matthew: Oh man, what a mess.**

 **Lovino: Whoa…flames and smoke…**

 **Roma: D:**

 **Roderich: Feliciano is here with us, no worries.**

 **Lovino: Oh that's good.**

 **Arthur: Oh second thoughts, I'm glad I'm not there after all. Allistor, Reilly, are you two okay?**

Roderich stared at the phone for a minute. _'…They're not responding…'_

Ludwig looked at his own phone and back at Roderich, "They're not still inside are they?"

Elizaveta looked up startled, "Huh? Who?"

"Arthur's older brothers aren't responding…maybe they're still on their way out…" Ludwig tilted his head, "That or they're not aware their phones are going off…"

 **Alfred: D: I'll run around and see if I can find them outside!**

 **Matthew: I'll go in the opposite direction then.**

 **Cruz: I don't believe this. Now we're looking for the two redheads?!**

 **Arthur: OF ALL THE TIMES FOR THEM TO NOT ANSWER THEIR PHONES!**

 **Roma: really.**

 **BigStiff: Gott…**

 **Roma: Where did Miss Summers go anyway?**

 **BigStiff: Said she was heading to the cafeteria for a coffee…good thing she's not here.**

 **Roma: Uh-huh.**

Roderich stood up, "I'm going to see if I can find them…" He hurried off down the hill, towards a large group of students that was to the right of where they were sitting.

"We should help." Antonio blinked and stood up, heading in the opposite direction, "Charge!"

"I'm just gonna stay here and cough up a lung." Ardrich said flatly.

"Ja." Ludwig nodded, "It hurts…"

"You two were near the room?" Elizaveta looked at them worried.

"We were _in_ the room!" Ardrich snapped.

"…" Elizaveta looked back and forth between the two, "…The ambulance is that way." She pointed towards the parking lot.

"It's not that bad." Ludwig looked towards the parking lot, "Nein, danke."

Ardrich just coughed from the ground, "I'm considering it actually."

"Oh for!" Elizaveta stood up, "I'm telling them to come over here!" She took off towards the parking lot.

"She's not serious." Ludwig said flatly.

"She's serious…and kinda cute." Ardrich blinked.

"What." Ludwig looked down at Ardrich, "Your eyesight is seriously bad."

* * *

.

.

Roderich glanced to the left and right, standing on tiptoes to peer between the crowd of students, "Uh…has anyone seen Allistor or Reilly Kirkland?" He tapped Mathias on the shoulder.

"Hm? The two redheads? Uh…" Mathias looked around, "I don't see them here, are they missing?"

"Well they're not answering their phones…" Roderich sighed.

"Oh man. Guys~ Help us out here!" Mathias tugged on the two nearest him, "We're looking for two students!"

"Oh, okay." Ivan turned, "Who for?"

Roderich glanced up at the taller male, "Arthur's older brothers, the twin redheads with the foul tempers."

"You'd think we could hear them cursing if they were outside." Yao scanned the people around them, "Maybe with the seniors?"

"Let's go!" Mathias cheered, charging off.

Roderich shook his head and hurried after, with Ivan and Yao right behind him, "The help is appreciated…"

* * *

.

.

Alfred made a face. So far, no luck. "Man where are they at." Alfred tilted his head, "Reilly should have been in lunch with us…but I don't recall seeing him now that I think about it." Alfred sighed and glanced at his phone. Still no updates.

 **Arthur: Where are they…**

 **Roma: D: Don't cry!**

 **BigStiff: I think he has every valid reason to do so.**

 **Arthur: You idiots! Where are you?!**

 **Alfred: D: Don't cry Arthur! We're looking!**

 **Roderich: Mathias, Ivan, and Yao are helping me look around the back of the school…**

 **Cruz: Well I'm not seeing them here on the west side.**

 **Matthew: Neither am I. Maybe one of us should insult them.**

 **Cruz: Go for it. That'd get 'em to respond.**

 **Alfred: I don't see them over here.**

 **Lovino: I can't find them on the front side either, maybe they went to the parking lot?**

 **Roderich: They would have had to go right by Ludwig and Ardrich. We were on the hill.**

Alfred gritted his teeth and took off again, "Where are they at?!" He spotted the principal up ahead, talking with a police officer and ran over, "Mr. Smiiiiiiith~"

"Hm? What's wrong?" Mr. Smith blinked, surprised by the interruption.

"Sorry! You haven't seen Allistor or Reilly around anywhere have you? I can't find them and I don't remember seeing either one in lunch either…" Alfred gasped for a moment to catch his breath.

"Uh." Mr. Smith glanced around, "They were in the office the last time I saw them, but I don't know where they went when the fire alarms started going off…" He glanced around the schoolyard and sighed, "Oh great…and teachers can't even find their classes to take a role call…"

Alfred looked around in desperation, "Where are they at…"

* * *

.

.

Elizaveta hurried back over to Ludwig and Ardrich, "Okay! Emergency personnel are right behind me!"

"Terrific." Ludwig commented sarcastically.

"Oh good." Ardrich looked up towards the adults moving towards them in neon yellow suits, "Firemen with stretchers. Yipee."

"Gott. I can walk. I draw the line at the stretcher." Ludwig coughed again and stood up, half-glaring at Elizaveta when she made an attempt to help.

Ludwig walked towards the parking lot, while Ardrich didn't even attempt to get up and just got carried by on the stretcher. "I have my dignity, danke." Ludwig grumbled. He paused by the ambulance to see Allistor sitting in the back of one, holding an ice pack to his head, "…What…what happened?"

"I was running down the stairs and slipped." Allistor snapped, "Shut up."

Ludwig sighed, "Ist Reilly with you?"

"Yeah. He's laying down. He was in front of me." Allistor motioned behind him, "Took him out with me."

Something started nagging Ludwig, but he couldn't think of what he was forgetting and just sat where the fireman was motioning to. _'What am I forgetting…it was something important wasn't it?'_ Ludwig squinted to a distant corner of the parking lot, trying to remember.

Elizaveta looked nervously towards Ardrich as he was put in one of the ambulances, "I-is he going to be okay? He is, right?"

Ludwig heard the fireman loading him mention something about smoke inhalation before turning his head away. _'Gilbert…you're really missing a huge mess right now…'_

* * *

.

.

Lovino hurried into the parking lot, spotting Ludwig sitting on the back of an ambulance, "Huh? Are you okay?" He peered in front of him, worried.

"Ja, ja. Elizaveta was freaking out." Ludwig waved a hand nonchalantly, "I'm fine…"

"You don't seem fine. You seem a little out of it." Lovino waved a hand in front of the blonde's face before turning his head to see an ambulance pull away, "Oh."

"They want to make sure Ardrich is okay…smoke inhalation…" Ludwig said quietly.

"Man…this is insane." Lovino scanned the parking lot, "And I can't even find those two. How hard is it to spot them in a crowd?"

"Who are you looking for?" Ludwig blinked up at him.

"Arthur's older brothers…they're not answering their phones at all…" Lovino sighed. _Geez he really is out of it._

"…" Ludwig turned his head and looked around the corner of the ambulance at the vehicle that had just departed, "That's what I was forgetting."

"What?" Lovino stared at him.

"They just went that way with Ardrich." Ludwig pointed, "Allistor slipped and ran into Reilly, and both of them fell down the stairs."

Lovino heaved a heavy sigh and pulled his phone out.

 **Lovino: Allistor and Reilly have been found. =_=**

 **Arthur: Oh thank god. Are they okay?**

 **Lovino: Well you'll know faster than us.**

 **Roma: ._.**

 **BigStiff: Oh great. More people.**

 **Arthur: What? What happened?**

 **Lovino: According to Mr. Vague Stiff here… Allistor and Reilly fell down the stairs.**

 **BigStiff: Vague stiff.**

 **Roma: XD The second part wasn't funny, but that first part sure was.**

 **Roderich: Who is vague stiff?**

 **Lovino: Ludwig. =_= Mr. Spaced out.**

 **Roderich: Oh for…**

 **Lovino: And Ardrich is also en route to hospital for smoke inhalation.**

 **BigStiff: IDIOT.**

 **Roma: D: *flail***

 **Lovino: Ludwig will be en route shortly. He's arguing with the staff.**

 **BigStiff: Tell them his father told them to drag him here.**

 **Lovino: Can do. :)**

 **Roma: XD**

Lovino looked up, "You have his father's full permission to drag him to the hospital if need be."

"Whaaat?" Ludwig heaved a huge sigh.

"Oh good. Off we go." The fireman motioned to the stretcher in the ambulance, "Hop on."

"Gott. Why me." Ludwig climbed into the back and grudgingly laid down on the stretcher, "I am not happy about this."

"Noted." Lovino commented, "I'll be sure to pass that message on."

 **Lovino: Okay, twin red idiots found, anyone else missing that we know of?**

 **Cruz: I don't think so.**

 **Matthew: I think we're all okay then… it doesn't seem like anyone is running around trying to find anyone else…**

 **Alfred: :D Oh good. Now we can collapse right?**

 **Matthew: Sure.**

 **Roderich: He didn't mean that literally!**

 **Arthur: Alfred don't you start!**

 **Matthew: O_O Eh! Alfred! Are you okay?**

 **Alfred: I'm so tired…**

 **Feliciano: D: Lovino, where are you?**

 **Lovino: In the parking lot, why?**

 **Feliciano: I'm coming over!**

 **Lovino: WHY?!**

 **Antonio: XD**

 **Roma: Sibling love~**

 **Cruz: That would explain why Matthew just ran about mach two over to where Jones was.**

 **Roderich: Never seen him run that fast.**

* * *

 **.**

 **.**

Miss Summers skipped back into the classroom, "Boy, the hallways are busy all of a sudden!"

"Might have something to do with the fire at the high school." Regis commented.

"Huh?" Miss Summers blinked, "What happened?"

"Apparently a stove caught fire." Regis looked at his phone, "I should go see if I can find Ludwig und Ardrich."

"Good luck!" Roma waved cheerfully, "I'm sure they're fine~"

"Ja ja." Regis waved and exited the room.

"…" Arthur glanced towards the door, "I wonder if they'd let me see Allistor and Reilly…"

"Well they should. You're family." Roma commented.

Arthur stood up and sighed, "Sorry, excuse me." He hurried from the room before his teacher could protest, leaving Miss Summers with Roma.

"Must have been some fire." Miss Summers plopped down in Arthur's now-empty chair.

"Apparently." Roma leaned back against his pillow, "There was quite some commotion until they actually did find Allistor and Reilly. Hopefully Arthur's okay…" He turned his gaze towards the door.

"Maybe I should follow." Miss Summers looked towards the door, "…Oh. I can just call his parents. They would be best." She pulled out her phone and dialed the number, humming.

"…You know their number?" Roma blinked.

"Of course. That's how I got permission to do the field trip!" Miss Summers grinned.

"Well at least you got permission." Roma sighed.

"Hello? Mr. Kirkland? Me, again! Allistor and Reilly I think just got taken to the emergency room, Arthur ran to see if he can find out how they're doing, but Roma and I are worried about Arthur, could you two come by?" Miss Summers listened for a moment before shrugging and hanging up.

"What'd they say?" Roma blinked.

"No clue. There was some swearing and the line went dead." Miss Summers tilted her head.

"I would take that to mean they're coming." Roma laughed.

.

.

* * *

 **One o'clock in the afternoon (about an hour after fourth bell would have let out)**

Lovino sat in the parking lot, watching as cars milled in and out of the driveway, "…"

"I can't believe they called _everyone's_ parents." Cruz scowled, "Now we all have to sit here? Couldn't we just walk home?"

Antonio looked at him, "Don't worry! Mom and dad will be here soon!"

"Like hell I was worrying." Cruz snapped.

Feliciano remained latched onto Lovino's arm, hugging his older twin, "I wish mom and dad would hurry up and get here!"

Lovino sighed. For one rare moment, he was actually in full agreement with Feliciano. Sitting here felt rather strange. Lovino glanced over his shoulder at the school where firemen were still moving in and out of the entrance, "I wonder if we'll ever know what happened…"

"Besides Ludwig and Ardrich setting fire to a stove?" Alfred blinked.

"I meant if something was wrong with the stove!" Lovino snapped.

"Gilbert's going to have a lot to catch up on when he wakes up." Roderich commented, leaning with his back up against a tree.

"Yup." Antonio nodded.

Matthew stayed sitting near Alfred, leaning forward to glance at the others, "…I wonder if the principal is considering retiring early…"

"So I have to deal with someone I don't know on a daily basis? Terrific." Cruz scoffed.

"Oh! Mom and dad!" Antonio waved enthusiastically, "Hiiiiiii~"

Cruz leaned away from Antonio so he didn't get hit by the moving arm, "Idiot."

"We sound a lot alike." Lovino blinked, glancing at Cruz, "I just now realized."

Matthew burst out laughing.

Antonio pouted at both Lovino and Cruz, "Just because you both call me idiot!"

"There, there." Cruz patted him on the shoulder in a mock display of sympathy.

"Just out of curiosity, does a normal school day ever happen here?" Ana asked, coming over to where they were all sitting.

"Nope." Cruz smirked.

Matthew glanced over his shoulder, "This isn't normal?"

Alfred grinned, "Well at least there were no serious injuries~"

Roderich nodded in silent agreement, though he was still watching his phone for any updates from those that had been taken to the hospital. So far there was a just a comment from Arthur that his brothers were fine and going through the process of being sent home now. Still no word from Regis though (if the tall stiff had even thought about updating).

 **Roma: A nurse was kind enough to tell me that while they're being held for observation, Ludwig and Ardrich should be fine.**

 **Roderich: Oh good.**

 **Lovino: Finally get an update.**

 **Roma: I believe Regis is having an emotional breakdown.**

 **Roderich: ._. I kind of want to see that. But on the other hand, I really don't.**

 **Roma: I understand that feeling quite well.**

 **Arthur: You don't want to see it. I'm stuck watching it and I wish I was somewhere else.**

 **Feliciano: D: Cheer up Mr. Beilschmidt!**

 **Lovino: Like he's gonna see your message…**

 **Roma: I'm sure Arthur can pass the message along :D**

 **Arthur: You're going to make me talk to him? ._.**

 **Alfred: You can do it Arthur~**

 **Matthew: :D You can!**

 **Cruz: Yeah. Goodness knows Matthew spoke up a crapload today.**

 **Matthew: I should have kept my mouth shut in those situations.**

 **Roderich: =_= Those teachers had it coming.**

 **Roma: XD**

 **Matthew: Still. I feel like we should apologize whenever school's back in session.**

 **Cruz: Like **** I'm apologizing.**

 **Arthur: XD**

 **Antonio: I don't think I've seen Cruz apologize once. :I**

 **Matthew: Eh? I have. ._.**

 **Alfred: =_= Of course you have.**

 **Matthew: What was that supposed to mean?!**

 **Cruz: Just because we left, doesn't mean I can't hit you when I see you next!**

 **Alfred: Ha ha~ :P**

 **Roderich: Don't worry about it. Matthew hit him for you.**

 **Cruz: Oh. Thanks! :)**

 **Matthew: No problem. :)**

 **Alfred: D: You guys are mean!**

 **Antonio: :D Someone agrees! Oh but I don't think Matthew is mean.**

 **Cruz: ._. I'm sitting next to you.**

 **Lovino: You're all idiots.**

 **Roderich: Well today was interesting. But I think I'll go to bed early and catch up on lost sleep.**

 **Roma: Good idea. Sleep is always healthy :D**

 **Arthur: …usually.**

 **Roma: =_= You know what I meant.**

 **Feliciano: Grandpa~ We're coming to visit!**

 **Roma: Oh, okay.**

 **Lovino: Mom and dad are with us.**

 **Roma: I kind of figured they would be. Someone has to drive.**

 **Antonio: XD**

 **Arthur: Still. Despite the chaos I think today was a good day.**

 **Lovino: How the heck do you come to that conclusion?**

 **Arthur: Just a feeling.**

 **Roma: :D**

 **Matthew: Yes. I can speak up when I don't want to and can't open my mouth when I should. Good day.**

 **Roma: XD**

 **Alfred: Baby steps. XD**

 **Cruz: =_=**

 **Roderich: Some of us should probably work on keeping our mouths shut.**

 **Cruz: That was directed at me wasn't it?**

 **Matthew: Sassy Cruz :D**

 **Cruz: ._.**

 **Alfred: XD**

 **Arthur: Well…see you all tomorrow then. We're heading home.**

 **Alfred: kay! Bye Arthur!**

 **Matthew: Bye!**

 **Cruz: We're already home. :P**

 **Antonio: Home sweet home! :D**

 **Lovino: We're at the hospital. Perhaps we can all sit in the same room without fighting this time? :)**

 **Roma: or everyone can get thrown out again. I don't care.**

 **Lovino: =_=**

 **Arthur: Have fun sitting through round two lovino.**

 **Alfred: ? Round two?**

 **Lovino: Yeah. Loads of fun. Thanks.**

 **Feliciano: No fighting! I'll kick mom or dad if they start :D**

 **Roma: Oh thank you :D**

 **Lovino: YOU ARE A BAD INFLUENCE ON US ALL.**

 **Cruz: XD**

 **Alfred: XD**

* * *

 **.**

 **.**

And thus is the end. I had a lot more chatroom chapters than I remembered. . _.; but oh well~ it's back up again!


End file.
